


Prejudices and Preconceptions

by Roguefemme



Series: The Master's Daughter [5]
Category: Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter - Laurell K. Hamilton
Genre: F/M, Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-05-28 08:46:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 26,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15045275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roguefemme/pseuds/Roguefemme
Summary: It's just a trip to the hybrid convention, what could possibly happen? Bigotry, revenge, murder, seduction, vampire politics, old friends, new revelations... and that's just the first two days.Mara and her beloved have settled their personal and metaphysical issues and are looking forward to a relaxing weekend together. But Caden's past is closer than they believe, and so is the hostility toward all that Mara and her kind represent. This trip could be the time of their lives... or the end of them both.Fifth in the "Master's Daughter" series.





	1. "I have to take my chances sometime,"

  
  
"Have you gone mad?" Caden snapped disbelievingly.  
  
I folded my hands in my lap and sighed. I had not expected him to react well to my decision, but that didn't make it more pleasant. "It's the best bargain I could make. Samuel's mind was made up."  
  
"You should never have agreed to it. Who will protect you?"  
  
"I'll have two guards, beloved, plus you will be there by my side. That is enough," I said soothingly.  
  
It didn't help. "It is an insult for him to demand you enter into his territory so unprotected. Are we to trust him because he does not trust us?"  
  
"It's a concession on his part that he's willing to let you in at all, beloved. You're powerful enough to be Master of a territory, and you have said yourself that you have a fearsome reputation. He has agreed to permit you coming with me because he has known Father and me for so long," I explained, forcing myself to remain patient. "Besides, I've been trained in self-defense all my life. I'm not helpless."  
  
His eyes glittered with anger. "It leaves you too vulnerable. You cannot believe I would permit this!"  
  
I've never responded well to being bossed. My patience vanished. "I don't need your permission. It's done. I have already agreed."  
  
He drew himself up, his eyes going stony, his voice dangerously low. "I do apologize for forgetting myself. I should know I have no right to contradict you, even when you take foolish risks with your life."  
  
"Well, I am sorry for being so _foolish_ ," I snapped. "Maybe when I'm over five hundred years old I'll be as smart as you are, but for now I'll just have to do my best with my silly little mortal mind!" I turned away and slammed my open hand against the wall to vent my feelings. Caden and I rarely argue, and I hate the way it makes me feel when we do. I had to get away from him.  
  
"Mara. Mara!" he called after me, but I was already out of the room and walking down the hall. He caught up to me when I walked into the kitchen. "Mara, we have not finished this discussion."  
  
I kept my back to him, clutching the edge of the counter in both hands. "No, Caden. I won't do this now. I've never disrespected you or treated you as lesser, not on purpose. If I've done it unintentionally then I'm sorry, but I've never done it on purpose and it was really unfair of you to imply otherwise."  
  
His voice was softer when he answered. "You have not, but how do you expect me to feel when you take such chances with your life, knowing what you mean to me?"  
  
I felt the sting of tears and took a deep, calming breath, then turned back to him. His face softened when he saw my expression.  
  
My eyes met his, pleading with him to understand. "I want to be alone with you, beloved. Since the beginning we've always been here, surrounded by dozens of people hearing and smelling everything we do. I want some time alone with you, just the two of us together. Don't you want that too?" I asked wistfully.  
  
He looked away, veiling his eyes, then his eyes met mine again. He came closer and held out his hands to me. " _Cariad_." I moved into his arms without hesitation. "Of course I want that," he whispered into my hair. "But not if it could cost you your life."  
  
"It won't!" I insisted. "You'll be with me. I wish you would trust yourself as much as I trust you. Besides, Samuel isn't an enemy. It's only a few days, and we'll spend most of our time at a hotel full of people anyway. And I have to take my chances sometime. You can't keep me hidden away from all risk forever."  
  
He didn't answer out loud, but his arms tightened around me. Perhaps I only imagined it, but for a moment I thought I 'heard' him: _I wish I could._  
  


   


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  
The weeks flew by in preparation, and the evening came when we were boarding my father's private jet. It was a small group: just me, Caden, Damian, Nicholas, Stephen, and Claudia. It would have been even smaller except that our vampires had no intention of feeding on the locals, so we'd had to bring 'food' for them. Technically Damian was part of the entourage and not a guard, but he had brought weapons anyway. He might not be a preternatural superpower, but vampire strength and a warrior's skill were nothing to sneeze at. For that matter, I had brought weapons too. Trusting didn't mean stupid.  
  
I'd mentioned to Papa that his corporate jet seemed a bit much for six people, but he wouldn't hear of me flying commercial. Then Mother had pointed out that they wouldn't let us bring most of our weapons on a commercial flight, which effectively ended the discussion.  
  
Since it was a five hour flight, we were traveling two nights before the convention. It made the trip longer than I had expected, but even early summer has short nights and we had to meet with Samuel, the Master of Cape Cod and the Massachusetts territory, on the night before the convention. We couldn't risk being in transit when dawn arrived.  
  
We would arrive in Boston in the wee hours of the morning, settle in at the hotel, I'd have the rest of the night and the next day to sleep and socialize, then we would go to meet Samuel. Then when the politics were out of the way, we could relax and have fun.  
  
That was the plan, anyway. But you know what they say about the gods laughing at the plans of mortals.  
  


   


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  
  
We were dragging ourselves thankfully into the hotel after a long plane ride when a female voice caught my attention.  
  
"Mara, baby!"  
  
I turned to see a swirl of flame-red hair and white skin just before I was pounced with a huge hug. "Julie!"  
  
Julie pulled back, her joyous smile flashing white fangs. "It's been way too long! We missed you last year."  
  
"Aw, you're sweet, but I'm sure you guys had a blast anyway." I took a good look at her. Julie was two years older than me, with white skin, bright green eyes, and red hair so multi-toned and vivid that it looked like living flames. I'd envied her that hair for years. She could have passed for another of Belle Morte's bloodline, but I knew that she was actually the Dragon's line like Caden.  
  
` "Yeah, we did." She grinned unrepentantly. "Where's Bobby?"  
  
"He's not coming this year. He says he's taking summer classes in college, but..." I pitched my voice lower, "...I think he's really got a girlfriend there."  
  
"Wow. I thought you two were going to wind up together," she commented.  
  
I rolled my eyes in amused exasperation. "Why does everybody say that? Anyway, I'm with someone." I took Caden's hand. "Julie, meet Caden, aka WelshWarrior."  
  
"Nice to meet you." She looked up at him and her eyes widened a bit, then she laughed suddenly. "Whoa, Mar wasn't kidding, you _are_ a fox!"  
  
Caden smiled slightly and gave her a small bow. "I am honored you think so."  
  
"And I thought I was the only fox around here," came Nicholas' amused voice from behind me.  
  
Julie looked over my shoulder at him and laughed. "Not far off. Mara, does your father hire any guys who aren't, like, totally hot?"  
  
"Papa is a big believer in both functional and decorative," I said slyly, and she laughed. "Julie, this is Nicholas. He's a lyke, a fox, hence the bad joke. You know Damian, and this is Claudia, and Stephen. Everyone, this is Julie."  
  
"Lyke, meaning lycanthrope?" Nicholas asked me.  
  
"Sorry, hybrid slang. Yes, exactly."  
  
They exchanged greetings, then Julie asked me, "Can you believe the crowd of burners out there?"  
  
"I know! The con doesn't start until Friday, and they're here already?" Even for wingnuts, that was dedicated.  
  
She made a face. "Please, that bunch of plano losers have probably been waiting all year to come here and bother us. Sour grapes."  
  
I glanced back at my party. Caden had picked up some of our slang from the boards, so he had gotten the conversation, but Nicholas, Damian, Stephen and Claudia looked lost. "Burners are the religious wingnuts, like the ones outside. We call them burners because they'd like to see us all burn," -that last with a sardonic look. "Plano means plain old human, non-magic, no ties to the preternatural at all."  
  
I turned back to Julie. "Hon, we just got here and we still have to get our stuff up to the room and unpacked. You're going to be here all weekend?"  
  
"You bet. Oh, and powwow in my room tomorrow night. You'll come, right?"  
  
"Aw man, I can't. I have to go meet the local Master in Cape Cod tomorrow night. I don't know how long that will take."  
  
She shrugged cheerfully. "Whoo, big shot. Don't sweat it, we'll probably be nattering for hours. Just come when you get back. Later, babe!"  
  
I laughed. Her cheerfulness was infectious. "Will do. Later!"  


   


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  
  
There were three rooms, one for me and Caden and one on each side for the others. We left it to them to decide how they divided them. We got up to the rooms, got all the luggage plus the coffins sorted out, and finally Caden was shutting the door behind us.  
  
I bounced onto the bed with a playful grin. "My, my, hours till dawn and nowhere to go. How _will_ we entertain ourselves?" I rolled over onto my front and planted my chin on one hand, making an exaggeratedly thoughtful face. "Hmm... there's always that great big bathtub over there. Is that a Jacuzzi?"  
  
He finished locking every one of the locks, then turned and gave me the wickedly sexy smile I loved. "Minx. This is not a normal hotel room."  
  
I smiled with very fake innocence. "Nope, we ended up with the honeymoon suite. I wonder how in the world that could have happened?"  
  
He gave me a look of amused skepticism. "The same startling cosmic coincidence that put those silk pajamas in my suitcase, I presume?"  
  
"Must be. How handy that you have something to put on after we've tested the bathtub."  
  
He walked to the bed and crawled across it, if something so graceful could be called crawling, then took me by the shoulders and pulled me up to face him. "And before we test the bed?" he said low, when his lips were just a breath from mine.  
  
"Mmm, you read my mind," I smiled, and sank into his kiss.  
  
  
  
  
  
Several hours later I rose, wrapped in a sheet, and went to the window.  
  
Caden got up on one elbow, watching me. "What are you doing?"  
  
I began unhooking the curtain on one side. "Just taking a look at Boston." The hotel had installed special light-blocking curtains that fastened down tight over the window, blocking light from entering even at the edges and preventing any accidental opening of them. Soon I had one corner freed and held it up so I could look outside.  
  
I heard quiet movement behind me, then his arms circled my shoulders and I leaned back into his embrace. We looked out over the city skyline.  
  
"It has a kind of beauty, doesn't it?" he said softly.  
  
"It does," I agreed.  
  
We were silent for a few moments.  
  
"I love you," he whispered. He showed me in many different ways how he felt, but it was rare that he felt safe enough to say the words aloud. It never failed to move me when he did.  
  
I covered his hands with mine. "I love you, too."  
  
Perfect moments like this never truly last, but I intended to save this one for as long as I could.  
  
  
  
Just before dawn, Caden kissed me goodbye and went to his coffin. I checked to see that the curtain was secured, then went to the coffin, which was tucked safely on the other side of the bed from the window, and knelt next to it. "Sweet dreams," I told him, and he gave me a quick, sweet smile, then pulled the cover closed. I listened until I heard the padlock click- an extra precaution- but I didn't move until I heard the soft whoosh of his final breath leaving his body, and my sense of his presence vanished. His body was still there, secure in the coffin, but what made him _him_ , was gone.  
  
Some people find the wee hours of the morning the loneliest time, but for me it has always been just after dawn, when so many I love have fallen into that stillness that was something between sleep and death.  



	2. Let the Games Begin...

  
  
I have a guilty secret. My mother has always hated the parties, the ceremonies, all the vampire formalities. My father acknowledges the necessity, but he is so politic that I've never been entirely sure how he feels about them. But even after all the hours I spent in childhood standing next to his chair, practicing sitting, standing, walking, every movement and expression that might be required for occassions like this, there's a part of me that thrives on it. It's like the most formal dance- step forward, step back, watch your partner and the other dancers, act and react, and always keep cool and look good doing it. I'm far from the most diplomatic person normally- I take after my mother in that- but I guess I'm just too vampire not to appreciate the intricacies of court functions, dangerous though they are. Plus, I like dressing up.  
  
Tonight I was wearing a gorgeous creation, a dress of centuries-old Venetian design that Papa had made for me after I'd fallen in love with one like it that I'd seen in a movie. Unlike my usual deep jewel tones, it was pale, a soft blue with just a blush of green in it. The straps were ornately decorated with a darker blue, one pair over my shoulders, another pair across my upper arms, connected by much thinner straps between. From the lower straps flowed filmy sleeves which were gathered just above the elbow then fell away from my arms almost to the floor. The trim on the corseted bodice matched the straps, and though it was only moderately low cut, the straight corset pressed my beasts in so they were very noticeable over the neckline. Beneath the bodice, the skirt was in two layers, the outermost open in front and folded up and inward on the sides and back and the innermost left falling in graceful folds to the floor. I paired it with simple dangling earrings and a necklace that Samuel had gifted me with for my thirteenth birthday, platinum with a pendant of paua shell dyed in shades of deep blue and green. The dress left a lot of bare skin around my neck and shoulders, and the necklace was striking against the white of my skin.  
  
Stephen, proving far more useful than just to feed the vampires, had done my hair in an upsweep with a single thick tendril falling to curl over one shoulder. My makeup was delicate and subtle as befit the dress. The outfit was completed with high heels dyed to match, but I was far too enamored of the dress to mind the heels much. At least they weren't spike heels- I have a special loathing for stilleto heels. (The knives of that name I like just fine.)  
  
Caden entered the room as I gave myself a final inspection in the mirror. I turned to get a look at him, and my mind went blissfully blank to anything else.  
  
The black dress pants were not unusual, though they were velvety-looking and more fitted than his normal wont, nor were the elegant black boots. But above them he wore a deep blue-green shirt in some soft material that was unlike anything I'd seen him in before. It was a loose fit, the sleeves narrowing to fitted cuffs, and the collar was open but held partially together by the chain of the platinum locket I had given him our first Christmas together. The shoulder holster was very black against the shirt, and he carried a black jacket over one arm. He had grown his hair longer in the past months, and it curled a little on each side of his forehead, the rest in soft waves combed back from his face. Freed from his usual slicked-back style, it looked lighter, a richer shade of brown. The shirt set off the color of his eyes, and the effect was enhanced by a little eyeliner and -I had to look carefully to see it- a touch of gold eyeshadow. He was _gorgeous_.  
  
"I came to get your opinion on my appearance, but I think from your reaction that you approve?" He lifted an eyebrow inquiringly, and I let out the breath I hadn't known I'd been holding.  
  
"That's putting it mildly. I approve very much." I laughed a little, embarrassed by how much my beloved affected me just by standing there looking so good. "If Papa created that outfit, I owe him a thank-you note." I gave a little model turn, showing the dress. "So what do you think, am I presentable?"  
  
He smiled warmly. "Aphrodite rising from the foam could not have been so beautiful."  
  
I blushed, and tried to hide it by turning away. "Perhaps I should wear the locket you gave me, since you are wearing yours. Samuel isn't expecting me to wear this necklace anyway."  
  
"No, it makes a better impression to wear his gift. It will do us no harm to remind him of your years of friendship with him. I know how you feel about me, beloved, you need not be concerned for that," he assured me.  
  
I smiled back at him. "Well, if I change my mind, I'm set anyway." I pulled out the locket from a pocket hidden in the dress's full skirt and showed it to him.  
  
" _Cariad_ ," he smiled affectionately, then his gaze dropped to my forearms. "You are not wearing your knives."  
  
My smile turned conspiriatorial. "No, but you'd be amazed what I can hide in this skirt. Don't worry, I'm set for trouble."  
  
"I do not doubt that. Shall we go, then?" He offered me his arm.  
  
"It's a little early, but that's not a bad thing." I took his arm and found that the material of his shirt was as soft as it looked. I stood on my tiptoes to whisper in his ear. "I look forward to taking this off you later."  
  
He breathed out in a quiet laugh. "I would say the same, but I am not convinced my expertise is equal to the challenge this dress presents."  
  
"Oh, I'm sure we'll manage," I smiled wickedly. We were laughing as we left the room.  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  
Caden and I were descending the staircase followed by the others when someone below caught my attention. I leaned over the railing to see a very familar face. "Rodrigo?"  
  
The man below looked up. "Niña? Niña, that is you!" he laughed. "Has it really been so long? Look how you've grown!"  
  
"In two years, a teenager does tend to do that." I got to the bottom of the staircase and he swept me up in a hug. Four men who had "muscle" written all over them ranged out behind him, their attention fixed on me and my entourage. It amused me that my old friend now had bodyguards, but hey, at least now I wasn't the only one. A suspicious clicking made me look over my shoulder, and I saw several reporters with cameras aimed in our direction. "Uh-oh. Check the tabloids tomorrow."  
  
"Ah, pay them no attention. We have nothing to hide." He stepped back to get a better look at me and tugged affectionately at the lock of my hair that fell over my shoulder. "Good lord, Niña, you keep dressing like this and I won't be able to call you my little girl anymore."  
  
"Nonsense, I'll always be your niña," I assured him cheerfully, and took the time to get a good look at him. He hadn't changed much since we first met, still slim with dark hair and eyes and skin a few shades darker than mine. Rodrigo and I shared more than just hybrid blood- his mother was Mexican like my grandmother had been, and his father European, Spanish, giving him a contrast between hair and skin and eyes that was almost as startling as what I saw in the mirror. He was in his early thirties now, one of the older of us, born a few years before vampires had been legalised. His face was youthful but held a maturity that hinted at his uphill struggle for acceptance in both life and his art.  
  
I looked up the stairs to my group. "Please, let me introduce you. Everyone, this is Rodrigo Alverez, the amazingly talented salsa singer whose first English-language CD is in the Billboard Top 20." I gave him a teasing smile.  
  
"Top ten, actually, but who is counting?" Rodrigo laughed.  
  
I laughed and introduced my people, ending with, "And this is Caden." I didn't elaborate, but held out my hand to Caden, who took it and stepped forward, offering his other hand to my friend.  
  
"It is a pleasure to meet you." His face was composed as always, but I could see that there was genuine warmth in Caden's expression.  
  
Rodrigo hadn't missed my meaning, and took Caden's hand with a warm smile. "Good to meet you, man. I've known this one since she came to my first concert at a hybrid convention six years ago."  
  
"Even then I knew he'd be a star." I smiled. "At least if people had any taste. And was I right?" I nudged him.  
  
"As always," he laughed. "But you are not all dressed up for the convention, are you?"  
  
I smiled a little ruefully. "No, political stuff. We're going to see the local Master to thank him for letting us visit his territory. But this being a vampire ceremony, that will probably take about two hours, not counting driving time." I sighed. "We've got to go, the car is probably waiting. You're doing a concert here, yes?"  
  
He smiled, showing perfect white teeth. His fangs had been shortened years ago so they didn't hamper his singing; it was one of the few reasons for the procedure that I considered acceptable. Rodrigo had never tried to hide what he is. "Tomorrow night at eight. You will be there?"  
  
"I wouldn't miss it!" I gave him a parting hug and kissed his cheek.  
  
"Good," he said. "And you," he pointed at Caden. "Keep my niña smiling like this and we'll always be friends, eh?"  
  
Caden gave him that slight smile. "I shall do my best." I took Caden's arm again and we turned to leave, but we didn't get far before another voice stopped me, a voice that was every bit as dangerous as Rodrigo's had been safe.  
  
"Mara, how lovely to see you. I had so hoped you would be here."   
  
I knew that voice, but I didn't look back immediately. It was a smooth voice, but not oily, a voice that felt like warm velvet rubbed across your skin. It seemed innocent, but held an undercurrent hinting at something that was far from innocent. The voice was very much like the man.  
  
Giovanni stood on the stairs, one slender hand draped idly over the polished wood banister. He was a few inches shy of six feet, and slim, but there was no mistaking his body for female. Tonight he wore all black, but where Caden wore black like armor, intimidating, Giovanni wore the black slacks and untucked black dress shirt as if they were simply decoration, teasing you with an idea of the body beneath, but only an idea, at least unless he allowed you to find out more. Caden gave the impression of danger, but Giovanni's air was pure seduction. The black set off his pale skin, drawing your gaze to his face, a wonder of contrasts, the warm golden-pale complexion, the lips that seemed made for kissing, the so-dark eyes fringed in dark brown eyelashes, all framed in mahogany-colored curls. He was lovely the way I imagined an angel would be, a blend of purity and sensuality. He smiled at me, and his smile, like the artfully disarranged curls around his face, was far too innocent to be true.  
  
His eyes were not innocent. Brown was too simple a word for the color- they were dark like chocolate liqueur, sweet and seemingly harmless, yet potent and intoxicating. The look in them was usually indulgent amusement as if he found it so very cute how people desired him, but when he looked at someone he wanted, those eyes were far more intimate.   
  
Giovanni had introduced himself to me at a hybrid con several years before, and even then he'd had that allure. His behavior toward me had never been less than absolutely correct, but I had seen him in my dreams for some time after that. It wasn't magic; I'd have sensed a spell or mind tricks. It was just the effects of a sexy man on an adolescent girl's hormones. At the time, I hadn't understood why he fascinated me so. He was beautiful, but I had grown up around beautiful people. "You're not a hybrid," I had whispered, confused. No hybrid should have the power to entrance me like that.  
  
He had knelt, smiling up at me like he knew something I didn't. "I am like you; I am more than merely a hybrid."  
  
His smile showed that he didn't have fangs. Some hybrids chose to have their fangs shortened to look more human, but he had not done that. Whatever he was, the genes had been stronger than the vampire genes, which meant his ‘human’ half was not human at all, but something more than human. The delicate tendril of his power that had traveled up my arm when he first took my hand had only confirmed it. He was a descendant of Belle Morte- not surprising, many hybrids are- and he had the power of that line, but his incubus power was mixed with something hotter, more alive.  
  
Lost in thought, I had not even seen him come down the stairs until he drew close to me, so close I could feel his body heat as well as his power. He lifted a hand to my cheek, those dark eyes fixed on me, and suddenly I found it harder to breathe. My hand closed on his and my power flared defensively as if to push back his sensual allure with my own. He closed his eyes, breathing slowly out as if I had done something far more intimate than simply letting him feel my magic.  
  
"Marvelous," he breathed. He leaned forward, his lips a breath away from mine. "Though I had hoped to bring you into your power myself." My heart was racing; for all my adolescent fantasies, I had never thought that he would ever be interested in me. I had no idea how to react. His lips touched mine, the merest taste of a kiss before he drew back, but it flared through me like pure electricity, leaving me tingling to my fingertips. I was unsure about Giovanni, but my power had no doubts; it liked him very much indeed.  
  
He leaned in again, but a wave of fear blew past me like a cold wind. It barely brushed me in passing, but even that was enough to leave me shivering. He flinched a bit when it hit him and looked over my shoulder. "So protective, your guards. So loyal. Or was he only protecting you?" He looked straight at Caden, and somehow I knew he could taste Caden's jealousy. Giovanni half-smiled, undaunted.  
  
"Stop it, Giovanni." I took a step back so that my body pressed against Caden's. This close, I could feel Caden's anger in the stiffness of his body, the crackle of his magic. He had always had amazing control, but lately he had developed a worryingly short temper when it came to defending me. Love doesn't only bring out the best in people.  
  
Giovanni's smile barely faded, but he stopped toying with Caden. "Have you figured out what I am?" He let his power flow over me, not invasive, just brushing itself against me like a cat rubbing against my ankle, making itself felt.  
  
And just like that, I knew. "Fey. You're part fey." Which court he was from I couldn't guess, but there were reasons that fey were once worshiped as gods. Some of them were nearly as powerful as vampires, perhaps more so. No one that I knew of had ever tested it. Small wonder he had caught me unawares- he had a double threat, the allure of both vampire and fey.  
  
"Very good," his voice was low, making the words seem much more intimate.  
  
"We've got to go," I said firmly. "Giovanni, it's been nice seeing you, but we're in a hurry right now. I'm sure I'll see you again sometime this weekend."  
  
"Of course." He stepped back with a debonair smile, placing one slender hand on his chest in a courtly gesture. "Farewell, Mara Blake." As we walked out of the hotel I wondered how he managed to make even my name sound vaguely suggestive.  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  
The limo was indeed waiting. It was a bit much for my taste, but I understood the need to present an impressive image. In vampire politics, someone being your ally didn't mean that the negotiations weren't dangerous; just that they were slightly less so. Slightly. Besides, I'd heard what driving was like in Boston, and was pleased not to have to do it. And unlike most cars, the limo had room for us all.   
  
I scooted fractionally closer to Caden. I was slightly nervous, and Giovanni's disconcerting presence hadn't helped.   
  
"Do you like that guy?" Nicholas asked from the opposite seat.  
  
I looked up at him, surprised at his tone. "Who, Giovanni?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
I laughed a little. "I don't think anybody _likes_ Giovanni. You may hate him, you may be obsessed with him, but he's not the kind of guy to inspire lukewarm feelings. But hybrids are a close family, and I know his reputation. He's the kind of man for whom forever only lasts until the end of the night."  
  
Nicholas laughed, looking out the window. "That's the most poetic description of bein' a dog that I've ever heard."  
  
Claudia laughed too, then gave me a serious look. "Just be careful, Mara. Sometimes just knowing what a guy like that is up to isn't enough to keep it from working."  
  
"I know. He's never come on to me before, it was just startling. I'll be more prepared next time," I said reassuringly.  
  
"He has."  
  
We all looked at Damian, who had his head tipped forward and was looking at me through a veil of his bright red hair.  
  
I frowned. "I'm sorry, what, Damian?"  
  
"The last convention. He didn't come on nearly so strong that time, and I don't think he was actively trying to seduce you, but he was charming you."  
  
I shook my head in denial. "I was fifteen at the last convention, Damian. I've heard a lot of gory details about his exploits, but I've never heard of his conquests running that young. He likes his lovers experienced. He probably just flirts out of habit."  
  
Damian was unconvinced. "Maybe he was planning ahead, making you remember him so it would be easier to seduce you later. But I know what I saw. He wanted you to want him. You're young, and female, you don't know the tricks men use. I do."  
  
"I'm not exactly innocent," I said skeptically.  
  
Damian gave me the full effect of his serious grass-green eyes. Damian's eyes had once been my ideal for green eyes, until I had seen Caden's. "You are, more than you know. Caden doesn't manipulate you, he's too honest, and no one else dares to try. You're not prepared for what Giovanni is doing."  
  
I still had a hard time accepting it, but... "If you say so, Damian, then I believe you. I'll be careful, okay? I have no intention of becoming another notch on Giovanni's bedpost. Besides," I said with a smartass smile, "I've got a man." I leaned on Caden's shoulder and he lifted his arm to allow me to snuggle into him.   


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  
  
The drive to Cape Cod was mercifully shorter than I had expected, and two hours later we were getting out in front of a large but surprisingly normal-looking wooden house on the beach.  
  
I took one step out of the limo and muttered a curse. High heels and sand do not mix well. With some effort I managed to move far enough out of the way for the others to get out of the car, but I was not looking forward to the walk into the house.  
  
Caden saw my problem and knelt next to me, lifting me easily in his arms and holding me cradled. Startled, I'd thrown my arms around his neck, but that lacked a certain dignity so I relaxed, leaving just one arm around his shoulder.  
  
"I am here as your humble servant, _cariad_ ," he told me softly. "Does it not make more sense for me to save you a difficult walk?"  
  
"I know," I answered very quietly, too low to be overheard by anyone listening from the porch. "You're supposed to play my besotted toyboy so Samuel won't feel so threatened. That doesn't mean I have to like it."  
  
"But I am besotted," he whispered, and I smothered a smile. Claudia gave us a look that said she would have liked to make a smart comment but knew it wasn't the time.   
  
"Let's go," I said. Caden and I took the lead, with Damian and Stephen just behind us and Claudia and Nicholas watching our backs like proper guards.   
  
It was a fairly bright moonlit night, but the porch was bathed in shadows. I didn't like it, and judging by their expressions the rest of my group didn't either. But we were here as guests, so to the porch we went. By guest rights, Samuel couldn't harm us- well, not without our consent- but I wasn't naive enough to think that made us completely safe. Nonetheless, to the porch and into the house we must go.  
  
A light came on inside the house. A male figure came to the door, then another. They came out and stood on either side of the entry, almost at attention. It forced us to walk right between them to get onto the porch. My guards remained watchful, but it did not do for me to show nervousness, so after the first glance I disregarded the two and idly straightened Caden's necklace. We weren't even in the house, and already the games had begun.  
  
"Enter our dwelling, and be welcome," one of the two said.  
  



	3. "Yet knowing what you once were..."

  
  
"Thank you," I answered. Caden placed me carefully on my feet and straightened the long sleeves of my dress so they fell properly again. I placed one hand on his shoulder and he obediently leaned down so I could reward him with a kiss. Playing to the audience. If I held it for a second longer than absolutely necessary, well, that was just adding to the effect. Ahem.  
  
I turned back to the Samuel's people, who waited patiently by.  
  
"Our Master awaits you inside," the first one said.  
  
"Take us to him."  
  
The silent one held the door while the other walked into the house ahead of us. Claudia stepped smartly ahead, entering the door first. She didn't obviously look around for danger, but like a good bodyguard, she would not let her charge walk first into an unknown situation. I entered next, Caden just behind me. The wooden porch wasn't ideal for heels, but it was a vast improvement on the sand.  
  
The room was large, furnished sparsely but nicely. The light came from a crystal chandelier that sent flashes of light around the walls and floor. The second of Samuel's people entered last, moving to stand by the first. In the light I could see that they were dressed exactly alike, white shirts, coats, and breeches with vests of an goldish ivory color. I privately thought it made them look like footmen, but since Stephen and Damian wore outfits that matched each other, black dress slacks and silk shirts with Damian in a green jacket and Stephen in blue, I didn't have much room to complain. Nicholas and Claudia wore jeans and black leather as befitted their function as bodyguards.   
  
Their clothes weren't all that matched; the two both looked at us with eyes of the blue-green of seawater. Not vampires, then; merpeople. Many master vampires have an animal to call, some creature that they have rapport with and control over, and could even gain power from, but Samuel was somewhat unique in that his 'animal' was mermaids. Papa's animal, of course, was his wolves.   
  
The two mermen crossed the room to a door opposite and went through it. I took Caden's arm and followed. They led us down a hall and into an even larger room where sat Samuel and his people. The mermen crossed to stand on either side of the dais.  
  
We walked into the room, stopping in the center, facing the raised dais on which sat Samuel and his family. Damian and Stephen stopped just behind me and Caden, and the guards moved to each side. Showtime.  
  
I sank into a curtsey, and beside me Caden bowed. I straightened. "I bring you greetings from Jean-Claude, Master of St. Louis and the Missouri territory. You know me as Mara, daughter to Jean-Claude and heir to his power." I came forward to stand before the dias, offering Samuel my wrist in acknowledgment that he outranked me. Vampire ceremonies are all about the pecking order. He took my hand and pressed a light kiss to the vein in my wrist. That done, I returned to my group and the introductions.  
  
"With me is Caden, my _pomme de sang_ and most beloved." Caden bowed again, and Samuel's gaze sharpened. Since I am a succubus and need sex the way a vampire needs blood, my primary sex partner can be counted as a _pomme de sang_ under vampire rules. It had come in very handy for the negotiations. I was glad now that protocol only required me, as ranking person in the group, to offer up a vein. With that look in Samuel's eyes, I wasn't sure what would happen if Caden had had to do so.  
  
"Damian, one of our kiss." Behind us, Damian bowed. "And Stephen, of my father's wolves." Stephen bowed. The bodyguards did not get introduced, since they were considered 'the help'. Undemocratic, but true.  
  
Introductions done, I continued. "We thank you for allowing us to enter your lands in safety, and shall honor your hospitality in word and deed for so long as we bide within your lands."  
  
Whew. People who live for centuries can indulge in wordiness, and vampires were nothing if not fond of their ceremony. Pity us poor mortals who have to do the dance with them.  
  
"As Master here, I welcome you and your people to my lands, Mara of the St. Louis territory," Samuel responded cordially. "Bide in safety and honor so long as peace lives between us. You know me as Samuel, Master of the City. I present my wife, Leucothea." He indicated the blonde woman seated in a matching wooden throne next to him. She inclined her head to us, but her eyes were very cold. Leucothea had never exactly been warm toward me, but there was more going on here. I better than many knew that Samuel shared almost everything with her, so both of them being unusually hostile was a bad sign.  
  
Samuel continued, "And my son, Sampson," as a dark-haired, youthful-looking man with a pronounced resemblence to Samuel stepped forward to stand beside him. Sampson looked solemn as befitted the formality, but his eyes sparkled with amusement as he bowed to us. At least _he_ was acting normal.  
  
"Greetings to you all," I responded dutifully. "We bring gifts in honor of your courtesy, in hopes they will please you." Damian and Stephen walked past us and stopped before the dais, each offering a box, one to Samuel and the other to Thea. The gifts accepted, they returned to their positions behind us. Samuel's gift was a small painting of his old ship that Papa had commissioned, and Thea's an ornate bracelet.  
  
The formalities done, Sampson stepped down from the dais and approached us. "Funny, I always took you for the bowing type," he said with a grin.  
  
"Not in a dress this lowcut," I quipped, and my smile at him was real, not a court smile. "Sampson, I didn't know you would be here. How lovely to see you."  
  
"Mara," he smiled, giving me a hug and a kiss on the cheek which I returned without reservation. Sampson was nearly a century old, but since we're both children of Masters, we're considered peers. Fortunately we've always gotten along as well as our fathers do. "Virginia can tend to itself for a while, I haven't seen you in years. I'm glad you've finally gotten to visit our shore."  
  
"As am I, it's lovely here. I don't believe you have met Caden?" Caden offered his hand to Sampson, who smiled politely and shook it. My attention was drawn to Samuel, whose face tightened when his son touched Caden. What had transpired between them to make Samuel so skittish? I could guess, but it bothered me not to know.  
  
I turned my attention back to Sampson. "I'm glad you're here. I've brought you a gift as well." Damian handed me a small velvet box, which I held out to Sampson.  
  
He took the box and opened it, then laughed, pleased. "The hybrid pride symbol, thank you! I have one of these, but it's not nearly as nice as this one. You designed this symbol, didn't you?"  
  
I lifted my eyebrows in surprise. "Most people don't know that, the contest was years ago."  
  
"I was impressed." He removed the pin and pinned it onto his lapel. I had commissioned the pin especially, and the gold and platinum looked good against the dark wool of his expensive suit. The symbol was rectangular, half full moon in the night sky, half sun in the daytime sky, cut on the diagonal. Part day, part night- nicely symbolic of hybrids, I thought, and apparently the judging committee had agreed.  
  
Technically Sampson wasn't a hybrid, but other half-vampires were always welcome among hybrids. Sampson was half vampire, half merman- actually part vampire, part siren- a very potent mix, and one of the most interesting combinations I'd ever heard of.  
  
"I did not know that," Caden commented, looking more closely at the pin. "She designed my locket as well."  
  
"Really?" Sampson looked at the locket. Caden had given me a locket with his family's coat of arms engraved on it, but since Papa's family had not been nobility and so didn't have a coat of arms, I'd had Caden's locket engraved with a sword and a rose, crossed, with two small dark blue sapphires in the hilt of the sword and two emeralds in the rose's leaves. "Very nice."  
  
"If you two are done making me blush," I laughed.  
  
Sampson gave me a rogueish wink. "Never."  
  
I looked up to see Samuel approach. Sampson courteously moved aside to make room for his father, but Samuel ignored me and stopped in front of Caden. His look at the taller man was unfriendly. "I had not thought to see you in my court, Caden, unless it were as an attacker."  
  
Sampson gave me wide eyes where his father couldn't see, and I fought to control my expression. It was not like the normally decourous Samuel to be so hostile.  
  
"Our situations are not as they once were, Samuel. I bear you no enmity," Caden responded calmly.  
  
"Yet knowing what you once were, I find it difficult to credit that even our lovely Mara could tame you to her hand."  
  
That passed undecorous into outright rude. "Father!" Sampson gasped.  
  
At the same moment, I stiffened angrily. "Master Samuel, we have offered you no insult to merit such treatment!" So much for diplomacy. This was completely unchracteristic behavior for Samuel, but I was far too angry to puzzle about it.   
  
Caden's gaze on Samuel never wavered. "You speak of what I once was, but in those days I was nothing more than a weapon. I was forced to destroy, again and again. Now I defend. Where once I was met with fear and hatred, now I am offered respect and love. I had nothing then that I regretted to lose. I am content with my new life."   
  
Samuel was silent, staring up at Caden, his hostility undiminished. "You are not Jean-Claude's second, or even his third. Am I to believe you have no ambition? Perhaps it is you who has seduced Mara, used her to get you here where you can strike at me and steal my lands."  
  
My anger was rapidly turning to fury. "Did you grant us safeconduct only to attack us here in your court, Samuel? Is your word of honor worthless?"  
  
He barely spared me a glance. "I am within my rights to punish a rival for Mastery of my lands. The rest of you may go in peace, but Caden will answer to me." He stared up at Caden again. " _I challenge you._ "  
  
Sampson's face showed astonishment turning to fear. Normally he gave pretty good court face, so he obviously found his father's actions as shocking as I did. All of my people had their weapons out, turning away from each other, forming a protective circle. My gun was in my hand but not pointed at anyone, not yet. Claudia knew the score, but Nicholas looked at me as if to ask what do to. I shook my head at him.  
  
My heart was pounding so hard that my chest hurt, but I could do nothing to interfere once challenge was given. With weapons Caden was nearly unbeatable, but this was strictly magic against magic and Samuel was over a thousand years old. Caden had only half of Samuel's years and lacked the boost in power of being Master of his territory. He had feared for me, but now it was his life on the line. If Caden died here, now, it would be my fault for insisting on this trip. My fault.  
  
Samuel's power hit us like a brick wall. I don't think he intended to strike anyone but Caden, but looking into Samuel's face, I knew that he wasn't nearly as in control as he should be. Caden stood straight, unbowed by the assault, his shields solid and strong. I felt him gather his magic and send all that energy back at Samuel. His power was amazing, but I wasn't sure it was enough. In this battle Caden had a lot of points against him.  
  
Leucothea rose from her throne, and I pointed my gun straight at her heart. "Don't," I warned her. Vampire rules said she couldn't interfere, but she was strong-willed and not a vampire, and I didn't trust her to stick to the vampire rules. I was so frightened that my body trembled with it, but my aim was steady.  
  
I watched Thea unblinkingly as she slowly approached, while mere inches away from me, two Masters battled. Neither moved, but the air felt nearly solid with their struggle. Watching her approach made me realize another thing- Thea couldn't interfere, but because she was his "animal", Samuel could draw power from her. Caden didn't have an animal. I felt a sudden, sick conviction of how this would end.  
  
  
  



	4. "They were looking for you, too..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: The description in the last story may have given the impression that Giovanni has voice tricks like Jean-Claude's. He doesn't. He just has a sexy voice. ;)
> 
> Additional note: The evil religious whackjob's name was originally Derek Moreland, but I've since discovered there's actually at least one guy with that exact name. So I've changed it to Mortland. A name meaning 'dead land' suits him better anyway. ;P

  
  
Caden's hand slid onto my bare shoulder, drawing a gasp from me, and just like that, the balance was tipped.  
  
Like the tide suddenly changing direction, the battle turned and Samuel staggered backward as Caden pushed his power back. Caden raised his hand and blood showed at Samuel's neck; just a small cut, but I was still startled. I'd never known Caden could slash with magic.  
  
"Finish it," Samuel snarled.  
  
Caden's expression was so cool that no one could have guessed from looking at him that he had just been in life-or-death battle. "I have answered your challenge and won. I do not want your lands, and I do not need to take your life." He stood looking down at Samuel, who was held in his wife's arms. "I have a choice now."  
  
Sampson knelt at his father's side, dabbing at the blood with a handkerchief. He looked up at Caden, then his gaze moved to me. I averted my eyes, unable to face the look in his hazel eyes. I still cared about Sampson, but my blithe assumption that we would never be on opposite sides of a battle had been shattered tonight. Our friendship would never be the same, even assuming we still had one.  
  
"Let's get out of here." I said. Caden turned away from Samuel, offered me his arm and we walked out with our people close behind us. Samuel's people did not move, and we walked unaccompanied out of the house and to the car.  
  
  
  
  
  
Once in the car, my control was so fragile that I didn't even dare look at Caden. We all sat in silence until Nicholas remarked, "If that was an ally, I'd hate to meet your enemies."  
  
I let out a humorless almost-laugh. "He _was_ an ally. Now I'm not so sure. I've never known Samuel to act that way." I thought for a moment, then shook my head. "The jet has already gone back to St. Louis, but I'll call Papa when we get back to the hotel and have it sent back for us. We'll leave tomorrow night."  
  
I looked around at them, their solemn faces. "I have to ask all of you to keep what just happened a secret. I'll make sure Papa and Mother know, but believe me when I say that for our safety, it's best that no one know about the challenge."  
  
"I can't lie to my Ulfric," Stephen said in his soft voice.  
  
"You don't have to," I reassured him. "Just don't volunteer the information. Richard isn't going to ask why my vacation got cut short."  
  
"I hate to sound dense," Nicholas asked, "But isn't it a good thing for your enemies to know you have power?"  
  
"There was a time that would have been true, yes, but now our enemies already fear Father. Even the Dragon tried to destroy him before he got too powerful. If they learn that he is served by a master capable of defeating the Master of a City..."  
  
Nicholas nodded grimly. "...If that's what the soldier can do, what is his boss capable of?"  
  
"Exactly. Power and ambition are paramount among vampires. Just as Samuel did not believe Caden is content where he is, no one will believe that Father could have that kind of power and not use it to increase his holdings. They would band together to destroy us before we could attack them."  
  
I glanced at Caden. His eyes met mine, and my hard-won control wavered. I leaned against him and rested my head on his shoulder. His arms circled me, drew me closer, his fingers touching my bare shoulder. _I'm so sorry,_ I told him silently, knowing that while we touched he could 'hear' me. _This was my fault. I should have listened to you. You could have been killed because of me._  
  
His mental 'voice' was soothing. _A larger entourage would not have helped me in a challenge. You were not wrong, beloved. I fear for you, perhaps too much._  
  
_I was so afraid for you._  
  
_I know. Your fear for me may have saved me._ He touched my face, getting me to raise my head to look at him. _Without our bond, I do not think I could have defeated him._  
  
_You gained power from my fear?_  
  
His 'voice' darkened. _It is what I am, cariad. I am a mora, I feed on fear. It is unpleasant, but true._  
  
I stroked his arm. _I'm glad you could do it. It saved you, and that's all that matters to me._  
  
He rested his cheek on my head. _You continue to amaze me, carwr._  
  
_I love you_ , I told him, as if it were all the explanation needed. And in a way, it was.  
  
  
  
  
  
We were many miles away when I moved over to roll down the window and look outside. "You know, I've never seen the Atlantic Ocean before." I smiled rather wistfully, looking out at the sea. "I'd hoped to get to the beach while we were here."  
  
Caden pressed the button for the intercom to call the driver. "Pull over, please."  
  
"Are you sure that's safe?" Nicholas asked, looking very dubious.  
  
"Samuel hates me, but he is honorable and I do not believe he intends harm to Mara or any of you. He will not attack us," Caden assured him.  
  
Nicholas looked at me, and I nodded. "I agree. The challenge was settled, and Samuel said the rest of us would be allowed out of his territory safely. A sneak attack would be dirty pool, breaking his word. Even if he were willing to do it, the Council would punish him for the breach of protocol."  
  
He let out a disbelieving _tch_. "Only vampires would call a sneak attack a breach of protocol."  
  
Under the combined unfriendly looks of me, Caden, and Damian, he hastily added, "Nothing personal. I'm just not used to people having so many rules when it comes to killing each other."  
  
"You'll get used to it," Claudia said sardonically.  
  
The car stopped and Caden and I got out. Claudia got out immediately after us. "Where do you want us?"  
  
"Just give us a little distance, but otherwise wherever you think best," I told her. She nodded once, smartly. It's so nice to have people who know their work. Why micromanage when you can just tell them what needs to be done and let them handle it?  
  
I took a few steps toward the ocean, and stumbled. "Damn these shoes," I muttered.  
  
"Come here," Caden said, and before I could protest, he'd swept me up in his arms again.  
  
"You have got to stop doing that," I informed him. He gave me innocent eyes. Where last time his carrying me had been for show, this time it was sheer mischief. I made an exasperated noise, which made him smile. He carried me nearly to the edge of the surf and set me down, I took his hand in mine, and we turned to look at the ocean.  
  
The night was perfectly clear, the stars glittering like jewels against the deep blue, almost-black of the sky. The ocean stretched out endlessly before us, the waves breaking up the shimmer of the new moon and crawling up the beach nearly to our feet. The moonlight reflected off the ocean in a line like a lit path leading to some other, magical world. It was breathtaking.  
  
I looked up at my lover, studied his face while he gazed at the vista before us. The moonlight reflected in his eyes when he turned his face to me, and he smiled. I moved closer and reached up to lay a hand along his cheek. Neither of us spoke -what could express a moment like this?- but I knew he knew what I felt seeing him like this. I smiled back and moved in front of him, turning to look at the sea again, and his arms slid around me, his body against mine. We stood together like that for a long time, gazing out at the ocean.  
  
When we walked hand in hand back to the car, me in my stocking feet and carrying my shoes, I felt something like peace.  
  


 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
We got our first hint that something was very wrong when we pulled up to the hotel. There were cars everywhere, so many that we couldn't even get to the back where we had entered before. The anti-vamp protestors had been driven back from the front parking lot, which was convenient but not a promising sign. We entered the lobby of the hotel and it was somewhat crowded, but one look around confirmed that the situation was bad. I'd gone with my mother to Quantico too many times not to spot FBI agents a mile off. There were at least half a dozen in the lobby.  
  
"Mara!" I looked around to see a dark-haired woman running toward me with another girl in tow. They were both clearly upset. It took me a second to recognize the woman as Anna, aka sciencegeek, a friend of mine from the hybrid boards.  
  
She stopped so quickly that she would have fallen against me if I had not caught her by the shoulders. "Anna, what's wrong?"  
  
"I don't know," she said breathlessly. "But something's happened. You know Julie was having a powwow in her room tonight, right?"  
  
"Yes, she invited me last night. Why? Where is she?" The cold, crawling feeling of imminent bad news was creeping down my spine.  
  
"I don't know. Nobody knows. I can't get in touch with her, and the police or whatever they are won't even let anyone near her room. Something bad has happened, Mara, and they won't tell us what's going on. They've come and gotten a few people, taken them upstairs, but no one has come back down. And Mara, they were looking for you, too," she finished, in a rush.  
  
"The hotel people won't say anything either, but they're all acting scared, " the girl said.  
  
"You work with the police, don't you?" Anna asked. "Maybe you can find out what's happening."  
  
"Sometimes, not as much as my mother. But that doesn't mean they'll tell me anything." I would love to know how that got out, because I sure didn't spread it around. I had gone with Mother to Quantico several times when she lectured for the FBI's preternatural training courses, but I'd only done the lecture myself once. There are still very few 'experts' who actually live with the preternatural instead of killing them. Vampire executioners have some knowledge, but killing people immediately after you meet them doesn't make you an expert on anything but killing them. In theory they could simply call in a vampire or lycanthrope, but distrust runs deep on both sides. Even half-humans like myself are viewed with far less trust than full humans.  
  
She nodded, still looking worried, but the girl next to her was near to tears. A movement in my peripheral vision made me look around. Others, most of them clearly hybrids and many at least moderately familiar to me, were gathering around us. I focused on Anna again, but pitched my voice loud enough to be heard by those nearby. "Look, I'll do what I can, all right? I'll go up and talk to them right now, and even if they won't let me come back and talk to the rest of you, I will find out if Julie's okay. Just stay calm and do what they tell you, okay?"  
  
I looked around at the others. "We don't know yet that anything has happened. It could just the burners making threats again. You know that psycho Mortland has been stirring them up about us lately, but most of them are all talk. And they want us scared. Don't give it to them, just stay calm. We're stronger that those bigoted cowards. Right?" I swept a look across the gathered group, from one side to the other. There were nods and murmured agreement.  
  
"Good." I turned to my group. "Shall we go?"  
  
We walked to the elevators. I dropped my voice so only my people could hear. "Caden and I will go talk to the Feds. The rest of you go get some rest. I have a feeling we may not get out of here very soon."  
  
  
  



	5. "I will not leave you here in danger"

  
  
  
  
  
Caden and I got off the elevator on the floor of Julie's room. Almost immediately we were confronted by two agents.   
  
"Sorry, this section is closed off." said the blonde one in a blue suit.  
  
I didn't bat an eye. "I'm Mara Blake. I was told some of your people were looking for me." I looked past him to the other agents gathered down the hall, and saw one who was familiar walk out the door of a room. "Agent Lee!" I called.  
  
Special Agent Lee, a greying man not much taller than myself, broke off from the crowd of agents and police and approached. "It's okay, let her through," he told the two in front of me, and they moved aside.  
  
"Not you," the brunette agent clamped a hand down on Caden's shoulder.  
  
Caden turned slowly and looked at him, and the agent backed up a step but didn't move his hand. Brave man. I've seen Caden intimidate centuries-old vampires with that stare.  
  
"Her safety is my responsibility. Where she goes, I go," Caden said coldly.  
  
"I know you. You came with her to the last lecture, didn't you?" Lee asked Caden. Without waiting for an answer, he told the agents, "Let him through."  
  
I looked over my shoulder at Caden. He had the cool bodyguard look down perfectly, but his eyes told me he was just as surprised as I was. We'd both expected a lot more argument.  
  
I hazarded a glance at Lee. His expression was grim. Not the usual give-nothing-away Fed look, but worse.  
  
"Follow me," he said, and we came closer, then I stopped dead.   
  
He reeked of blood. There was no visible blood on Lee's skin or clothes, but the smell of it lingered around him like a poisonous cloud, overpowering. I looked at the door that he had just come out of, then met Lee's eyes. I could feel that mine had bled to solid fiery blue, my face becoming thinner, paler.  
  
"The fuck?" one of the agents down the hall said. I ignored him.  
  
"Ease down!" Lee snapped at him, and I realized the unnamed agent had his hand on his gun. Jumpy. "This not a good time to go all otherworldly, Ms. Blake."  
  
"Julie has been murdered, hasn't she?" I asked bluntly.  
  
"Why do you say that?" he asked cautiously.  
  
"Nobody has been able to contact her for hours, and you just came out of her room reeking of blood. No accident in a hotel room could cause that kind of bloodshed. This hotel is crawling with police and FBI agents, and the head of the FBI's preternatural division is here in person." I turned my face away from him, taking a deep breath. "That blood is fresh. No way you had time to come to Boston from DC since it was found. You were already here, which is either a huge coincidence... or it means that you were expecting something like this."  
  
I forced my racing heart to calm down, my eyes to return to normal, then looked at him. "One of our own has been violently murdered, and you knew, or at least suspected, that it was going to happen. Now tell me, _what is happening_?"  
  
He watched me steadily for a long moment. "Come with me, please." He led us into another room nearby. Two agents seated inside looked up as we came in. "Sit down." Caden and I took two folding chairs near the table where Lee sat.   
  
Lee's look was even grimmer. "We'd intended to contact you anyway. I'm sorry you had to find out this way. You're right, Julie Matheson was murdered tonight."  
  
"And she's not the first," I stated.  
  
"No. The third." He opened a briefcase and took out a magazine which he handed to me. "You remember this?"   
  
I took it. The cover read " _The future of humanity?_ " in large yellow letters. It was a national magazine that had done a cover story a few years ago on the rising hybrid generation, including short bios on a dozen individuals. I'd been surprised when the magazine contacted me to be one of them. "Yes, Papa thought the story would be good publicity." Julie had been another of those interviewed. I handed the magazine back to him. "You think they're picking their victims from this?"  
  
"The letters taking credit for the first two murders didn't mention it, but so far it's three for three."  
  
"So who is taking credit for it?"   
  
"The Pure Humans."   
  
I closed my eyes and breathed out slowly. Most of the public trouble hybrids got was from religious fundamentalists, but the Pure Humans were different. Fifty years ago they might have been white supremecists, but the rise of hybrids gave them a splashier cause, and they had embraced it. Oh, they hated all preternatural beings, but hybrids and other part-humans were their favorite targets. Now apparently they'd stepped up from mere hate screeds. "What did they say, specifically?"   
  
He shifted a little, uncomfortably. "You understand I can't give you all the details."  
  
"Of course."  
  
"The phrase they used was 'starting with the prominent halfbloods'"  
  
I frowned. That didn't make sense. "But there are a lot of hybrids more famous than Julie was. Rodrigo Alverez is here, his album just went platinum. LaDonna Manetti is running for Congress in California. Francesca LaTour just passed the bar and went to work for the ACLU. Alexandra Beaufort's latest movie is a favorite for the Oscars. Davina Dodd is the head of HIRO, she organizes hybrids' rights rallies all over the US and Europe." HIRO stood for Hybrid International Rights Organization.  
  
Lee was nodding. "We've already contacted all of them and we're monitoring them, but many of them refused protection. Some already have security of their own."  
  
"Then I don't see the connection. Julie was head of the HIRO group on Seattle U. campus, but I doubt that's enough to put her high on the hate group hit list."  
  
"Exactly. That's why we don't think Pure Humans did it. They're taking credit, but the letters have arrived only after the deaths became public, and had no conclusive details. Other than the magazine, we can't find a connection between the victims."  
  
"So who were the other two victims?"  
  
"Andre Delacourt and Lindsey Sattler."  
  
I felt sickened. "Oh gods, Andre?"  
  
Lee nodded, looking sympathetic. "You knew him?"  
  
"Yes, we talked on the boards regularly. He was supposed to be here."   
  
"We know. He already had the plane and hotel booked when he was killed. Do you know Lindsey?"  
  
I thought and shook my head. "The name doesn't sound familiar, but that's not conclusive. We all use internet handles on the boards."  
  
Lee's face was set with anger. "I doubt she was ever on the boards. Lindsey was eight years old."  
  
Caden cursed softly behind me. "They are murdering _children_?"   
  
That triggered the memory. I just closed my eyes, trying to blot out the image of the dainty little girl with white-blonde hair who had kept the magazine photo session so lively. They had put her next to me in the front row of the group shot, and they'd finally had me hold her by the back of her lacy little dress to keep her from dashing off before the picture was taken. She had squirmed and giggled like it was the most fun ever.  
  
"And now we know the killer is here. Besides me and Rodrigo, how many of the others from the article are at the convention?"  
  
"Three out of the other seven. And Mara, if someone is after you, this is the place to do it. In St. Louis you're too well-guarded, and this killer hasn't hit any hard targets yet."  
  
"So you think it's one killer?"   
  
"We don't know. We haven't proven otherwise. The murders were in different parts of the country, but with enough time between so it could be one killer traveling. But we're prepared, and every major hate group is being watched."  
  
"And the magazine is the only connection you've found?" I asked.  
  
"So far, yes. Can you think of another?"  
  
"You want my opinion?" I looked at him, somewhat surprised.  
  
"You're the closest we've got here to an expert on vampires and the metaphysical world, so yes, I do."  
  
I considered that. Julie had been nineteen, in college, Andre a sixteen year old high school student, and Lindsey in elementary school. They'd lived in different places, done different things... "Not that I can think of. They're not even the same types of hybrids. Andre was Belle Morte's line and I think Lindsey was too, but Julie was the Dragon's line. The Church of Eternal Life?"   
  
Lee shook his head. "Lindsey's parents met through them, but Andre had no connection that we can find. Any other vampire angle you can think of?"  
  
"Andre lived in Chicago, that's Augustine's territory. Julie lived in Seattle, her father served Lyka. What about Lindsey?"  
  
"Santa Fe."  
  
"Obsidian Butterfly's territory. Was Lindsey's father associated with the Church or the local kiss?"  
  
"The Church."  
  
"High-ranking?"  
  
"Not really."  
  
"Neither of the other two fathers were high ranking vampires either. What about the mother, she's a member too?"  
  
He shook his head. "The mother's a Follower of the Way. They met while her group was helping repair the local Church after it was torched by an arsonist."  
  
I frowned thoughtfully. "Christian witches. Andre's mother is a witch too, a Wiccan. Julie's mom died when she was a kid, but you might want to find out if she was some kind of magic user, too."  
  
"Good. Is there anything else you can tell us about the victims? Anything at all?"  
  
I hesitated, then sighed. "Andre confided in me, but you probably need to know. His parents were on the outs because his mother suspected his father of illegal activities."  
  
Lee looked more intent. "Do you know any specifics?"  
  
"No, I didn't ask." I glanced at him sharply. "If I had known anything specific, I would have reported it. I obey the law, Agent Lee. All of my father's people do."  
  
"But the vampires in Chicago don't?"  
  
Damn. I didn't meet his eyes. "How would I know something like that?" The truth was I knew damn well Auggie was a mob boss. I'd always disliked him because of it. I like warriors, but I have no use for thugs. I hated to mislead Lee, but I didn't know enough to testify even if I'd been willing to risk war between our kisses to do it.  
  
Lee wasn't fooled. "I could subpoena you, Mara."  
  
"To say what? Do you really think they'd let me find out anything you could use? It's not a secret that my mother works with the police and FBI, and that to a lesser extent I do too."  
  
He scowled, but let it go. "Right. And the other kisses? What about this territory?"  
  
"As far as I know, the local kiss has no connection with crime. Same for Lyka's kiss. Obsidian Butterfly is very reclusive, I don't know about her. But I really doubt all three had parents on the wrong side of the law."  
  
"Do you know anything about it?" Lee asked Caden.   
  
Caden gave him a negative shake of his head. "My duty is to protect Jean-Claude's kiss. Such issues that are not directly related to our security are generally not of interest to me."  
  
"Well, you might want to expand your interests, because as long as we can't find a connection between the victims, all hybrids are potential targets," Lee stood briskly. "There's nothing else you can think of?"  
  
"Why are you so interested in the vampire angle?" I asked.  
  
Now it was Lee's turn to avoid my eyes. "If you think of anything else, get in touch with me. Anything at all."  
  
I wouldn't be diverted. "Agent Lee, how were they killed?"  
  
"I can't give you details."  
  
I stared at him hard. "But there's a connection, isn't there? There's a reason why you're looking so hard for a vampire angle, besides just their being hybrids."  
  
"I can't give you details, " he repeated, "But I'll tell you this much. They were killed like vampires. Heart taken out, head cut off."   
  
Slow horror crept down my spine, and I couldn't suppress a shudder. "Please tell me they were already dead when the heart and head were taken."  
  
It seemed like an eternity before he answered. "Yes, they were already dead."  
  
I hadn't even realized how much I had tensed up until my body went limp with relief. Nobody spoke for several long moments.  
  
"How long were you planning to stay in town?" he asked finally.  
  
I looked over at Caden, who glanced quickly back at me. "We were planning on leaving tomorrow night," I told Lee.  
  
He looked at me sharply. "The convention doesn't end for three more nights. Why the hurry?"  
  
"Our plans changed."  
  
"You're not the running type, Mara. If I find out you know something about these murders that you're not telling us..."  
  
I stood up too, angry. "I know nothing about the murders except what you've told us, Agent Lee. We decided to leave early before we even got here tonight. I wouldn't withhold information about something like this."  
  
"Then why the change of plans?" he asked.  
  
"Diplomatic issues have arisen that my father needs to be apprised of." Prevarication at its best.   
  
"You can't 'apprise' him over the phone?" he asked with a trace of suspicion.  
  
Yeah, I could just imagine that conversation. _Hi Papa, we got here safely, the hotel room is fine, and by the way, your old pal tried to kill my lover tonight. Wish you were here!_   
  
"I suppose we will have to. Very well, Agent Lee, I will stay until the end of the convention. At any rate, it would be a bad thing for the others to see me leave during a situation like this. But some of my people may have to return to St. Louis."  
  
Caden's hand slid onto my shoulder. It looked like a gesture of affection, but I knew there was more to it.  
  
_I am not leaving you_ , he informed me silently.  
  
I turned to meet his eyes. _Samuel tried to kill you. It's dangerous for you to stay._  
  
_Am I to leave you unprotected when someone is murdering your kind here? You are mad if you believe I would do that._ His 'voice' left no room for compromise.  
  
_Father must know what is happening here._  
  
_Stephen can go. I will not._  
  
_I won't let you stay here in harm's way, Emrys._  
  
_And I will not leave you here in danger._  
  
"If I may interrupt this battle of wills?" Lee said. As far as I knew Agent Lee had no magic talent, which meant he had figured it out just by watching us. So either we were being too obvious, or he was just that sharp. I sincerely hoped it was the latter.  
  
We turned cold stares on him, but he was undaunted. I sent one last look at Caden. _We'll talk about this later._  
  
He returned the look, with interest. _No, we will not._ His hand lifted from my shoulder, effectively ending the discussion.  
  
Lee continued, "We would strongly prefer you stay here, Ms. Blake, you and all your party." His suspicion had faded somewhat, but not entirely. "Just remember, you cannot tell anyone what I've told you tonight, both of you. That includes the vampire network. We'll catch this killer within the law."  
  
"Are you going to call in my mother? She could be a lot more help with the crime scenes than I can."  
  
"We would if we thought the killer was a preternatural, but as far as I we can tell, it's ordinary humans committing hate crimes. That's not part of her jurisdiction."  
  
"The victims are preternatural."  
  
"Do you think your mother knows more about hybrids than you do?" The question could have been sarcastic, but he was perfectly serious.  
  
I debated for a second, then shook my head. "No. Vampires and lycanthropes, maybe, but not hybrids," I conceded the point. "What are you going to tell the others?"  
  
"We'll call a meeting tomorrow to tell all the convention guests the basics that they need to know, but we don't want to start a panic."  
  
"There are some very scared people downstairs waiting for news right now, Agent Lee."  
  
He cleared his throat. "I was hoping you could help with that."  
  
"How? What can I do if I can't tell them anything?" I asked incredulously. "They're not stupid. They're not going to believe everything is fine when this place is crawling with FBI and no one knows what's happened to Julie."  
  
"Mara, I'm trusting you a hell of a lot. I wouldn't trust any other person as young as you are, but most seventeen-year-olds haven't lectured at Quantico. But more than that, these people trust you, more than they do us. Tell them what you have to, but _only_ the minimum you have to. We don't know who the next victim will be. They have to stay here, at least for the next few days, so we have time to catch whoever wants you all dead."  
  
"And if someone else dies?" I asked coldly. "If I asked them to stay, that would be on my conscience for the rest of my life."  
  
"If you all leave, someone else will almost certainly die, and it could happen anywhere. At least here we have resources in place, so we may be able to prevent it from happening again."  
  
"You hope."   
  
Now I knew where that grim look had come from. "Yes. We hope."  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  
Caden and I went downstairs accompanied by two agents. I squared my shoulders, thankful for the years of instruction I'd had on conducting myself for a vampire court. Right now, composed dignity was exactly what I needed.   
  
The doors opened, and we walked into the lobby, Caden to the right of me, the agents just behind.   
  
We paused and I cleared my throat. There were a lot of people in the lobby, but it was so quiet that the sound was clearly audible. Anna got up and walked over to me and the others drifted in our direction, looking both eager and frightened.  
  
I took a slow, quiet breath and spoke, not loudly but projecting my voice. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this," -breathe out- "but Julie is dead."  
  
Anna clapped a hand over her mouth and there were sounds of grief and horror all around us.   
  
"The FBI has called a meeting in the hotel's theater tomorrow morning at 8am when they'll explain everything. For now all I can tell you is the hotel is being very well guarded, and we're all safe as long as we stay here, stay calm, and do all we can to help with the investigation. Don't leave the hotel."  
  
"Is it the burners?" someone asked.  
  
"They don't know."  
  
"Are you staying?" a blonde woman asked. I guessed she was older than me, but the fear on her face made her look younger.  
  
"We all have to stay. But besides that, Julie was a friend. I'm doing whatever I can to see that whoever killed her is stopped."   
  
"Why should we listen to you? I don't even know who you are," another woman asked coldly. Guess I'm not so famous after all.   
  
"My name is Mara Blake. I'm Technophile on the boards."   
  
"Technophile is seventeen. You don't look seventeen." Her eyes were angry, but I doubted it was personal. Sometimes getting angry beats giving in to fear. I wondered whether she thought I looked too young or too old, but it was hardly the time to ask.  
  
Help came from an unexpected quarter. "She is, Debbie. I know. This is her." Anna, aka sciencegeek, came to my side.  
  
"Yeah, well it's easy for her to stay," Debbie said. "I saw her come in, she's got bodyguards." She glared at me. "If we're so safe, why don't you send them home?"  
  
"You're right," I said quietly. She froze. The group gathered around us was nearly silent, listening. "I do have my guards, and I'm not sending them home. Would you?"  
  
A pause. "I know you may be risking a lot if you stay, but they don't know who the next target might be. They have theories, but truthfully they just don't know for certain. This city, and especially this building, is full of FBI agents here to protect us. If we all scatter to the four winds, then they can only try to figure out who the next victims might be and protect them. And they may guess wrong. Here they can watch over us all. I don't blame you if you want to leave, but if you did and you were one of the killer's intended victims..."   
  
"You said they have theories who the killers might target?" someone asked.  
  
"Yes. Those people will be told individually, and offered extra protection. But it's best if we all stay here together."  
  
"Why are you telling us this, instead of the FBI?" a blonde woman asked.  
  
"They will tell you all this in the morning, but they let me talk to you tonight because you were waiting for news. Ask the agents, if you wish. They'll tell you the same."  
  
"So if we do stay, what can we do?" this from a youngish dark-haired boy I had never seen before.   
  
"Stay in, or at least close to, the hotel as much as possible. If you do leave, keep together in groups. Keep your identification with you, because the FBI will be checking everyone who enters or leaves to make sure they have legitimate business here. If anyone comes to see you at the hotel, meet them in the lobby and make sure they bring ID too. Other than that, just proceed as usual. I have people I need to talk to tonight, so I'll be up all night. If any of you want to call or come to my room, you're welcome to do that. I'm in room 317."   
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
When the elevator doors slid shut, I felt Caden's hand rest on my bare shoulder. I closed my eyes and covered his hand with mine.   
  
When the doors opened again, we were once again cool and decorous, but we both felt a little better.   
  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
We got back into our room to find our entourage waiting for us.   
  
"So what's the story?" Claudia asked.   
  
I told them.  
  
"Julie, that pretty little redhead from last night?" Nicholas asked when I'd finished.   
  
"Yeah," I whispered.  
  
"Jesus Christ. I'm sorry, Mara. Did you know her long?"   
  
"About five years." It was painful to think I'd never see her again, never get another private message from her on the boards or hear her voice on the conference calls again. I tried hard not to think about it. "Do me a favor and don't sympathize right now, okay? We just need to think about what we're going to do. For now, you," pointing to Claudia and Nicholas- "need to get some rest. Stephen, you too. I'm not planning anything other than going to that meeting at eight am, but you never know. The meeting I can do alone, though. You'll need your rest."  
  
"Pardon me, ma'am," Nicholas drawled, "But you're crazy if you think I'm lettin' you go anywhere alone with a killer on the loose."  
  
"I'm with Nicholas. You're not leaving this room without us," Claudia said.   
  
"I'm not helpless, you know," I told them, knowing it was a lost cause.   
  
They were saved from answering by a knock on the door. I got up to answer it. Caden held up a hand and moved swift and silent to stand behind it, gun drawn. Nicholas and Claudia stayed where they were, watchful, their hands hovering near their own weapons.  
  
I opened it, and Anna looked up at me. "Um, hi. I decided to come by, I hope that's okay..."  
  
"Of course, come on in." I stepped aside.   
  
"Nice outfit," she said with a weak smile, coming into the room. Until that moment I'd forgotten I was still wearing the formal dress. It seemed like days since I'd first put it on.   
  
"Thanks," I smiled back encouragingly. She blinked up at me. Normally she was taller than I was, but my high heels put me a little taller. I held out my hands, and she moved quickly into my arms, burying her face in my shoulder, and began to cry. "Aw, hon." I held her close and began to stroke her hair.   
  
"I just can't believe she's gone," she wept.   
  
"I know, sweetie, I know."   
  
There was another knock, and I looked past her at the others. Caden went to open it and I gave him a grateful smile. It was going to be a very long night.   
  



	6. They say there are no friends in politics...

  
In the interests of safety, not to mention accommodating the crowd, we moved Caden's coffin into the room next door with Damian's. Apparently nobody wanted to be alone tonight, and I guess my room worked better than the lobby.  
  
Just before dawn Caden, Damian and I excused ourselves from the small crowd in our room and went into the quiet room where Nicholas and Claudia slept. Stephen had caught a nap earlier and was going to stay in my room once the vampires had retired. I suspected they didn't trust me not to sneak off if left alone, but I wasn't in a mood to argue.  
  
We moved quietly into the room, trying not to disturb the sleepers. Damian went to his coffin and got in. I gave him a smile and a "good day", and he smiled and pulled down the lid.  
  
I turned back to Caden. He was still wearing the lovely outfit, and in the semi-privacy, I slid my hands up the soft material of the shirt, wrapped my arms around him, and kissed him long and unhurriedly. He held me for a moment, but we could both feel the dawn pressing down on us and knew we were running out of time. He lay down in the coffin and I knelt next to it. He reached up to touch my cheek gently and I turned my face into the caress.  
  
"I love you," I whispered.  
  
_I love you too, cariad_ , came his answer, with a sweet smile. "Be careful," he said aloud.  
  
The tears I had forced down all evening threatened to choke me up, but I gave him a smile. "I will."  
  
He gave me a single nod and reached up to close the lid. I listened for the click of the lock and the soft sound of the air leaving his body.  
  
I took a deep breath that was only slightly shaky and stood up. I glanced at the nearest bed, and in the dim light I saw that Nicholas's eyes were partly open. He gave me a sympathetic half-smile, and I gave him a rather strained smile back. I walked quietly to the door, paused to gather myself, and then went back into the next room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
By quarter to eight I had managed to slip into the bathroom to wash my face and change into jeans and a dark green silk tee shirt. I had removed all the pins from my hair and let it fall in heavy waves down my back. In truth I seriously doubted the "meeting" would tell me anything I didn't already know, but no point risking that I might miss something important. Besides, there were people who expected me to be there with them, and I've never liked disappointing people. Call it a weakness if you will. I don't.  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
I was mildly surprised that Agent Lee himself gave the presentation. I guess the Feds wanted us to know that they were serious. After he stepped off the stage, few of the audience left. Even though hybrids are not exactly known as morning people, nobody seemed eager get back to their rooms. I joined the milling crowd, Claudia and Nicholas remaining at a discreet distance. It wouldn't exactly be good for the morale of my peers to see my guards hovering over me.  
  
Looking around made me realize how close a family we were. All around me people took each other's hands, embraced and comforted one another, and a stranger observing them would never guess that most of them only saw each other once a year, or less.  
  
Around the edges of the room the FBI agents milled around, a visible presence, no doubt meant to reassure as much as protect. There was little chance of the killer being in this room. The thought crossed my mind that that might not be true- might hate crimes not be perfect cover for a personal vendetta? But the victims had all been little more than children. It was very difficult to believe that any of them had enemies so vicious and yet so organized, willing to cross the country to cover their crime. No, this had to be someone outside our group, someone with a true hatred of hybrids. But why now? Why them? What connection was I missing? I leaned against the stage, apart from the crowd, thinking.  
  
I felt the weight of someone's gaze and looked up. Across the room Giovanni was hugging someone comfortingly, but over her shoulder he met my eyes. His eyes weren't sad or frightened; they were angry. I knew exactly how he felt.  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
I stared at the cell phone in my hand. I was not looking forward to this call, but stalling would not make it any more pleasant. It was after dawn so Samuel would be in his coffin, but getting Leucothea could very well be worse. She had a temper that made Mother look cool-headed by comparison.  
  
I dialed the number and listened.  
  
"Mara?" Sampson's voice came through the phone, and inwardly I breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
"Sampson, how are you?" Mustn't forget my manners.  
  
"Fine. I'd ask how you are, but I think I already know." He paused, then asked in a careful tone, "Are you still in Massachusetts?"  
  
"That's what I'm calling about. Something happened at the hotel last night. We can't leave now, and I don't know how long we'll have to stay."  
  
His voice became sharper. "What happened?"  
  
I suppressed a sigh. "I can't give you any details because I don't know how much the police have released, but it's bad."  
  
"You and your people have safe-conduct, Mara, but I don't understand how Father is acting about your _pomme_. I don't think I have to tell you it's better if they're not in the same territory for long."  
  
"Believe me, I know, but that's just not an option. Caden wouldn't leave me in danger even if he could."  
  
There was an undercurrent of anger in Sampson's voice when he answered. "You're not in danger from us, Mara."  
  
"I didn't mean from you," I said quietly.  
  
A pause. "What the hell is going on there?" Sampson was like me- he didn't swear unless it was for effect, or when he was very bothered by something. He wasn't going for effect at that moment.  
  
"I've said as much as I can." I rubbed my forehead, glad he couldn't see me. "No, there is one other thing. Don't be alone, Sampson. Keep some guards with you, and tell your brothers to do the same."  
  
"But why..." he began.  
  
"I give you my word that I've told you all I can, probably more than I should have," I told him hastily.  
  
There was a long pause, and he sounded resigned. "All right, Mara, I'll pass on what you've said, but Father might not be satisfied with this."  
  
"Thank you." I took a deep breath. "I'll try to get the police to contact him, but they're keeping a tight lid on things. In the meantime, he has my cell number."  
  
"Take care of yourself, Mara."  
  
"You too, Sampson."  
  
I hung up, my throat tight. Sampson and I had been friends for years, but that was over now. It had been broken the moment the challenge was made and I took Caden's side. Though Caden hadn't issued the challenge, he could have finished it with Samuel's death and I would not have stopped him. I'd been prepared to shoot Sampson's mother to keep her from interfering. Sampson had seen it in my eyes, and now that we had been enemies, however briefly, he would never fully trust me again.  
  
They say there are no friends in politics. But regrets? There are plenty of those.  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
"So, did you really lecture at Quantico?" Nicholas asked me out of the blue later that morning as we waited for breakfast.  
  
"Yes, why?"  
  
"Oh. Claudia said you had, but I thought she was having me on until I saw you talking to that Fed at the meeting like you knew each other."  
  
I laughed a little. "Agent Lee? I've known him for a while. He and Mother have been working together on preternatural cases for years. Mother usually does a lecture for the preternatural courses at Quantico, but last year she was on a hunt. They didn't have time to find a replacement, so I went instead. I had gone with her on the last several lectures, so I knew the drill." I shrugged. "Mostly I just answered questions. It wasn't a big deal."  
  
He grinned teasingly. "That's not what I heard. I heard you nearly had it out with some hotshot vampire hunter."  
  
"Oh, _him_. He was just one of those hardliners who think vampires should never have been legalized. It went against his grain to listen to a 'halfblood' like me, never mind one a third his age." I shrugged with a wry expression. "Turns out he doesn't exactly get along with Mother either, but I guess I got the special treatment for being a hybrid."  
  
"So how'd you shut him up?"  
  
There was a knock at the door. "Who is it?" I called.  
  
"Room service!" came a female voice through the door. I glanced at Nicholas, who nodded and casually placed his hands in his lap, close to the gun there, then crossed one leg over the other so the gun wasn't visible from the door.  
  
I opened the door to find a small woman in a hotel uniform with a cart next to her. She glanced up at me, then past me to where Nicholas sat, and back. "Breakfast for..." she consulted a paper, "Mara Blake?"  
  
Oh, it smelled lovely. "Yes, thank you. Please, bring it in." I stepped out of the way and got out my wallet, musing that people around here needed to learn to use sunblock. Humans ought to be glad they didn't have to slather themselves in SPF 75 just to go outside in the daytime like I did. Judging by her sunburn, this one either didn't know or didn't care.  
  
"Here you go." I handed her the bill money plus a nice tip, and she gave me a closed-lipped but professional smile.  
  
"Have a nice day, ma'am."  
  
"You too," I smiled, and shut the door after her.  
  
"So, the vampire hunter?" Nicholas prompted me.  
  
I lifted an eyebrow at him while I set the plates on the table. "I'll tell you the story sometime when things are a little less crazy."  
  
"Aw." He gave me pleading puppy dog eyes. What was sad was that it was actually cute.  
  
I couldn't help laughing. "Give me a break."  
  
"I had to try." He grinned unrepentantly, and we applied ourselves to our breakfasts. Pancakes with blackberries for me, yum. Nicholas had a 'manly man' breakfast involving a lot of meat and almost no fruit. I know lycanthropes need a lot of protein, but sheesh. So did hybrids for that matter, but a few slices of bacon was about all the meat I could handle before noon.  
  
When we had polished off the meal and he had put the cart outside the door, he observed, "You should get some sleep. You're running on empty."  
  
"Is it that obvious?" I asked, amused.  
  
"To somebody who knows you. Go on, I'll keep an eye on things."  
  
"But somebody might call..."  
  
"Believe it or not, I have answered phones once or twice before," he informed me dryly. "I'll take a message and wake you up if it's important enough."  
  
I crossed my arms and glared at him, but there wasn't much heat in it because I knew he had a point. He glared back, not budging.  
  
"Okay, okay," I gave in. "But wake me up in six hours, okay? Or before if there's an emergency."  
  
"Will do, boss lady." He gave me a mock-salute.  
  
I rolled my eyes and grabbed a sleep shirt. "Turn your back for a minute, would you?"  
  
"Aww," he pouted.  
  
I gave him the look he deserved and he turned his back, laughing. He was such a flirt sometimes. There had been no flirting for quite a while after the hallway incident, so it made me feel better that he would do it again now. Not that I'd tell him that. No point encouraging him.  
  
"You know, that cell phone you were issued is good for all over the States," I told him. "Papa doesn't mind if you use it to call your family."  
  
"I appreciate that, but I doubt I'll be making many calls," he replied over his shoulder.  
  
Huh. I was curious, but if he didn't want to share then it wasn't my business to pry. I finished stripping off the jeans and shirt and put on the sleep shirt. "Okay." I slipped under the covers and almost immediately felt sleepy. I really _was_ tired.  
  
"Sleep well," Nicholas's voice roused me just before unconsciousness overtook me.  
  
"Thanks," I mumbled, and fell asleep.  



	7. "She's asking for you..."

  
"Mar. Mar, wake up."  
  
"Mmmph," I protested, then grudgingly opened my eyes.  
  
Nicholas was leaning over me. "You told me to wake you in six hours."

I frowned. Hadn't I just fallen asleep? "Yeah." I sat up. "Any messages?"  
  
"Two. Rodrigo called to tell you the concert is still on for tonight, he thought you'd want to know. You also got a call from a Diane inviting you to a powwow in her room."  
  
"Diane... oh yeah, I know her. When?"  
  
"She said five, so it will end before the concert." He cocked an eyebrow at me. "What is a powwow anyway? Or is it a big hybrid secret?"  
  
"It's just a gathering, hybrids only. Truthfully I've never been to one before, so I'm not sure what they talk about."  
  
"Huh. Funny you've already been invited to two this time."  
  
I shrugged. "Maybe it's an age thing and I was just too young before." I was already dialing the phone. "Diane? Hey, it's Mara. Nicholas said you called? Yeah, I can make it. I'll see you then. Bye."

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
I just had time to shower and change and at five I was knocking on Diane's door. It opened almost immediately.  
  
"Mara! How are you, hon?" The tall woman with short blonde hair pulled me into a hug, and since Diane had a good six inches on me, it was an interesting experience. She glanced over my shoulder at Nicholas. "Um..."  
  
"S'okay, I'm gonna wait outside. I know you ladies have big secret stuff to talk about," he assured her, and I didn't have to look to know he was giving her his best charming grin.  
  
"Do you have a chair we can put out here for him?" I asked her, and she blinked and looked back at me.  
  
"Sure, no problem, " Diane said, going into the room and quickly coming back with the requested chair. She winked at Nicholas. "I feel safer already with you guarding us." Oh, brother.  
  
"My favorite part of the job, ma'am, watching over such lovely ladies."  
  
Get the shovels, it was getting deep. "Now, Diane, no vamping him when he's on duty." I took her arm and guided her into the room. "I'll see you later," I told Nicholas, and he gave me a last grin before sitting down. I shut the door.  
  
"You're no fun. You bring hot guys and you don't even let anybody flirt with them," she complained.  
  
I eyed the tall, lovely blonde amusedly. "Somehow I doubt you'll be deprived."  
  
She laughed. "Mara, you know Jennifer and Dana, right?"  
  
The two brunettes, one brown-eyed and nearly as tall as Diane, the other green-eyed and shorter than me, waved from where they sat cross-legged on the floor. Obviously the meeting had already begun without me.  
  
"Of course. How are you?" I sat down nearby, leaning on the bed.  
  
They glanced at each other. "How are any of us?" Dana said.  
  
No one answered, all of us studiously avoiding looking at each other.  
  
"Julie would want us to go on," Jennifer said softly.  
  
"Yeah, she would." I said. "It doesn't make it much easier, though, does it?"  
  
"Did you see her? I mean, before?" Jennifer asked, looking around. Dana and Diane shook their heads.  
  
"No, she left me a message before I checked in," Diane said quietly.  
  
Dana nodded. "Me too."  
  
"I did," I said quietly. "She was in the lobby when I came in." I pulled my knees up in front of me, hugging them to my chest. "Gods, I'm going to miss her."  
  
"We all will." Dana looked away.  
  
We sat in silence for several minutes, avoiding each other's eyes.  
  
Dana impatiently dashed away tears. "Can we talk about something else?"  
  
There was a long and awkward pause.  
  
"I know what we can talk about," drawled Jennifer, shooting me a coy look. "Miss Got Some."  
  
"What?" I gave her wide eyes, wondering if she really meant what I thought she did.  
  
"Well, what do you think a bunch of Mouries talk about when nobody else is listening, the weather?" Dana interjected with a grin that managed to look mostly unforced. "Why do you think you never got invited before this year? We all like you, but you had 'virgin' written all over you."  
  
"Don't lie, we all know. We would even if you weren't going around with that hottie on your arm," Jennifer grinned. "You're one of us now, a full-fledged Mourie."  
  
I hid my blushing face in my hands. "I cannot believe you guys are asking about this."  
  
"Aw, don't be shy, we're all sluts here," Diane laughed from her perch on the bed.  
  
I'd heard Byron use the word 'gobsmacked' to describe being caught off guard, totally derailed by the unexpected. It was a very good word for what I felt. "What do you mean?"  
  
"God, you're young," Diane laughed. "Mara, we're all Mouries, and there's a reason we're called that. We need our _amour_."  
  
I blinked. I'd always assumed the term was a corruption of "Morte", as in Belle. "Seriously? I thought it was just me."  
  
"Why do you think the Mourie guys are so popular? Once we get started, mere mortals can't keep up. You want to stick to one boyfriend, he'd better have a little more staying power than most humans." Diane actually winked at me. "'Course, you wouldn't have to worry about that, would you?"  
  
"Why is this the first time I'm hearing this?" I asked, bewildered.  
  
Diane gave me a very dry look. "We don't exactly put it on the FAQ."  
  
I shifted uncomfortably, and it wasn't just the subject matter. Sitting on the floor with a gun in my back holster was not a pleasant position. Surruptitiously I slipped the gun out of the holster and slid it under the edge of the bed where the others would not see it. What the hell, I might as well be comfortable. I could grab it easily enough if necessary. "Pardon me for asking, but what happens to you if you don't?"  
  
"Cranky, tense, stressed out," Dana shrugged. "Same as regular humans really, just faster and way worse."  
  
"Oh." So I was still the odd one out. Not that I'd wish my little problem on anyone else, but it had been nice to think I wasn't alone.  
  
Jennifer lifted her eyebrows at me. "Isn't that how it is for you? We figured you'd have it worse, with your dad being so much older."  
  
"I do," I said ruefully. Boy, did they have no idea. "Is that why everyone expected me to wind up with Bobby?"  
  
"You mean, aside from the fact most of us would kill to have a hot Mourie guy in our city?" Jennifer smirked.  
  
"I'd so do him," Diane said feelingly.  
  
"You _did_ do him, last year," Dana snickered. "Don't even lie."  
  
"She... You did?" I turned to frown at Diane.  
  
"Hey, you weren't with him then, were you?" she asked defensively.  
  
"It's not that, it's just... I didn't think he did that at conventions. He never seemed to like all the attention."  
  
Jennifer flopped over on her back, laughing. "Oh, honey, he ate up all the attention. He just never let you _see_ him flirting with anyone else. As soon as you walked in he'd totally freeze us out. He had it so bad for you it wasn't even funny."  
  
I stared around at all of them. "Well, that explains the blondes surrounding him all the time. Was I the only one who didn't know he had a crush on me?"  
  
"Basically, yeah," Dana said.  
  
"Yup," Jennifer added.  
  
"Totally," Diane agreed.  
  
"Just tell me you finally did him, at least once." Jennifer flipped over and stared at me intently.  
  
This was giving me a whole new understanding of awkward. "Uhh... no. We dated for a couple of weeks, but that was it."  
  
She slapped her forehead, and the others laughed. "Oh my God," she said disgustedly.  
  
Dana was nearly doubled over laughing. "You're just mad because you couldn't lure him away."  
  
"Oh shut up." Jennifer glared at her.  
  
"Speaking of luring away," Diane said in an elaborately casual tone, "Your boyfriend better watch out. I saw you in the lobby with Giovanni last night."  
  
"I didn't do anything with Giovanni!" I yelped.  
  
"Not yet," Diane grinned, "But he's sure planning it."  
  
"Ooooh boy, Giovanni," Jennifer sighed. "Give him a kiss for me, would you? Your choice where."  
  
I hastily covered my flaming face. "I am here with my _lover_ , for gods' sake!"  
  
"Ha, look at her face!" Jennifer chortled, and I lowered my hands enough to glare at her.  
  
"I think that is about _enough_ talking about my sex life, thank you all," I informed them in a tone that brooked no argument.  
  
"Oh, you're no fun," Jennifer pouted.  
  
"You'll get over it," I told her without a particle of sympathy. "So," I asked conversationally. "Is Giovanni's reputation really that bad?"  
  
The other three looked at each other and promptly dissolved into hilarity. I was just amusing the hell out of everyone today.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
After a very enlightening several hours, we were interrupted by a fire alarm. I immediately ran to the door. "What's going on?"  
  
"You know as much as I do," Nicholas said. "Stay here and I'll go to the lobby, see what I can find out." Then he was gone in a streak of movement.  
  
A bare two minutes later, my cell phone beeped a message. I switched it to walkie-talkie mode and Nicholas's voice emerged. "Mar, somebody tried to set off a bomb down here. Apparently they did a piss poor job of it and it fizzled out, but there's smoke everywhere. You and your friends better get down here and out of the hotel."  
  
I waved at the others to go, and they ran for the stairs. I paused in the hall. "What about Caden and Damian? I can't leave them."  
  
"Vampires don't have to breathe, right? There's no structural damage, so they're fine as long as they're not breathing."  
  
I hesitated.  
  
"Vampires can't be poisoned, not by this stuff anyway. You can."  
  
Caden's voice broke onto the line. "Mara, go. We will be fine."  
  
"Fine, I'll get Stephen and Claudia and be right down."  
  
"No, I'll call them. You get your ass down here," Nicholas corrected.  
  
I was almost a smartass and asked him who was whose boss, but it was hardly the time. I still hesitated. "Okay, fine, I'll be right there."  
  
"Don't look for me," Nicholas instructed. "Just go straight outside. I'll find you."  
  
"Gotcha." I dashed for the stairs.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
When I got outside, there was already a crowd milling around the parking lot. I didn't bother looking for Nicholas, but scanned for Claudia's six foot six form. If I couldn't find her in a crowd, then finding anybody else was close to impossible. But the light was already dimming, and it wasn't easy. I stayed on the edge of the crowd, making sure I was visible from the front door of the hotel, and looked around for a place to climb up and get a better view.  
  
"Excuse me, aren't you Mara Blake?"  
  
I turned to see the sunburned bellhop behind me, wide-eyed and looking scared. The look made me downgrade her age to late teens."Yes, I am. Why?"  
  
"Someone's been hurt, a friend of yours, and she's asking for you. I think she said her name was Anne. Please come quickly!"  
  
"Anna?" I asked, and she nodded, already poised to run. "Where is she?"  
  
"This way." The girl ran toward the side of the hotel with me closely following.  
  
She led me around the hotel into an alley, where she bent over, winded, and pointed. "That way. She's over there."  
  
I turned and ran in the direction she pointed until an impact in my back knocked me down to my knees. Disbelieving, I looked down to see blood spreading down my side.  
  
Stupid. So fucking stupid. And I didn't even have my gun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I swear it makes me wince to re-read my old stuff because I've advanced a lot as a writer since than and there is SO much that I'd fix if I had the time and energy. Unfortunately I don't have the time or energy, so I just have to post it as is. Sorry, everyone.)


	8. "Save me a seat..."

  
  
I fell forward, just catching myself on one hand, and another shot zinged over me where my head had been seconds before. I had felt the bullet pass more than hearing the gun fire; she was using a silencer. Many of the hybrids in the crowd might hear it, but they wouldn't realize what they were hearing.  
  
Staying low, I looked over my shoulder at her. The first shot had missed my heart, but she was aiming for another shot, the gun pointed directly at my head. Without even thinking, I marshaled my strength and leapt at her. I didn't try for the gun, just hit her like a living missile, pulled back my arm, and punched her in the face as hard as I could. The gun went off, but I was already inside her guard. Even weakened as I was, it should have knocked her out. Instead she blinked, shaking her head. I grabbed the gun, stood and pointed it at her. Why the hell wasn't she unconscious?  
  
She stared at me with eyes burning with hate. "Abomination," she snarled, and got up and ran, unbelievably fast, too fast for a human. I tracked her with the gun and fired, but she darted through a window into an abandoned building. My head swam, but I had no choice. Nobody else knew she was the killer- nobody alive- and she had to be stopped. I followed.   
  
I blinked in the darkness of the building and just saw a movement in the far corner. I ran up the center aisle between the rows of benches. No, I realized, not benches; pews. She had led me into an abandoned church.   
  
She vanished through a door, and though the pain of my wound made me stumble, I stayed on my feet. I had to, because I knew if I fell, I wouldn't get up again. Through the door were stairs, and I looked up to see her at least two flights up. Dear gods, how was I going to make that in this condition? But images flashed in my mind: of Andre as I had last seen him, a half-grown boy, shy and sweet, Julie's smile as she told me about her intention to become a geneticist so she could study hybrid genes to aid humankind, and the blonde haired, irrepressible little Lindsay. I saw them all alive and happy, then it changed and I saw them lying in their own blood, dead eyes staring. _Stop her_ , they seemed to tell me. _Don't let her do this to anyone else._  
  
Fury lent me strength and I ran up the stairs after her. I couldn't see her anymore, but there was only one door at the top, and I dashed through it. She was waiting for me, and I hit the ground rolling as the shotgun blast roared over my head. Damn, that had been close. I blinked in the dim light. She was silhouetted against the last light of sunset. We were on the roof.  
  
She took aim again and I dove out of the way, only barely fast enough to avoid her next shot. I rolled over to see her, and struggled to my feet. She bared her teeth furiously, dropped the shotgun and pulled a knife. My eyes had adjusted to the twilight, and I suddenly noticed an oddness about her teeth. The canines were just not quite right.  
  
Then it all clicked. Shortened canines, the sunburn to hide pale skin, the inhuman speed and stamina...  
  
"Dear gods," I murmured, in shock. "You're a hybrid. Why? Why would you murder your own people?"  
  
"You are not my people!" There was a depth of hatred in her eyes that was beyond sanity. "Hybrids are monsters who will burn in hell with the monsters who sired them."   
  
"What a lovely worldview. Be sure to save me a seat when you get there," I snarled.   
  
"No. I will be redeemed!" She stalked around me, the knife held ready. "When every last hybrid is destroyed, then I will be cleansed of my mother's sin. I will save the true children of God from your evil."  
  
Now I knew where that hate came from. She was a zealot. She believed she was doing her god's work. It made her far more dangerous than I had realized, because nothing short of death would stop her from her mission.  
  
My limbs were beginning to feel like lead, and I was becoming lightheaded, dizzy. I didn't have much time. I raised the gun in a two-handed grip, my arms shaking with the effort, aimed for her heart, and fired. She dove out of the way, rolled. The shot hit, but she'd moved fast enough that it only struck her shoulder instead of her heart. It made her drop the knife, but she wasn't down. Dammit. I followed her movement, shaking my head to clear it, and fired again.  
  
The gun clicked empty.  
  
I fired again and again, but it was useless. I dropped the gun and pulled one of my knives, holding it by the point, poised to throw. But the blood loss had taken its toll, and the knife fell from my nerveless fingers, slick with my blood. Blackness was beginning to close over my vision. No more time.  
  
I could barely see her shape standing in front of the low wall edging the roof. Distantly I felt for Caden's mind. _Forgive me, my love_ , I thought, pulled my other knife, and leaped at her.  
  
She braced herself, but I used all my remaining strength to stab the knife into her heart and she couldn't stay upright under the impact. I twisted the knife in her chest and she screamed, trying to shove me away, but it was too late. As if in slow motion, she wavered, fell backwards, and we tumbled over the edge.   
  
It was over. She'd never survive the impact combined with the heart blow. I felt a distant relief before I sank into oblivion.  



	9. "I do not regret what I have done..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dedicated to SusanM68, for being a loyal reader and also for patiently nudging my slacker self to keep updating here when I keep getting caught up in RL stuff.

  
I was in a castle, an honest-to-god medieval castle. In all my mortal life I'd never set foot in such a place, but I could feel that it was real, feel the centuries of people who had lived and died here. Looking around the great hall, I could almost see the shadowy figures of inhabitants bustling around me.  
  
" _Cariad_."  
  
I turned to Caden, the skirts of the unfamiliar heavy dress I wore rustling with the movement. I glanced down at myself. The dress was velvet, a deep, rich wine red with a square neckline embroidered in gold, the wrists of the long fitted sleeves edged in the same intricate gold embroidery as the neckline. The bodice was fitted to below my waist, where the skirt flared out in folds to the floor. It was elegant and beautiful, a style that dated back to centuries before I was born.  
  
His eyes followed mine, taking in the full effect. "I had hoped to see you like this someday," he said softly. His clothes, too, fit our surroundings: a beautifully tailored black velvet tunic with a fur-lined open collar and flared sleeves slashed with cloth of gold. The high collar was adorned with gold embroidery, and was open in the front to reveal a shirt of deep red. A heavy, jeweled gold collar rested across his shoulders. His legs were covered by knit stockings which clung snugly, leading the eyes down to soft black ankle boots. Modern men may wince at the thought of wearing stockings, but on him it looked natural and very masculine. He looked every inch the aristocrat he had been in life.  
  
"What is this place?" I asked him. "Where are we?"  
  
He looked away for a moment, then met my eyes. "That is not important. What matters is that you still survive, my _cariad_. You may be angry with me, but the one thing I cannot do is to stand back and let you die. I could ask your forgiveness, but I will not apologize because I do not regret what I have done. I would rather have you alive and wroth with me than dead and forever beyond my reach."  
  
"I don't understand. What have you done?"  
  
"You will understand." He came towards me, his body straight and proud, his stride sure, but his eyes held a thread of fear and dread as well as that ineffable sadness that was so much a part of him. He stood before me, close enough to touch but leaving a distance between us.  
  
"Emrys, what..." His fingers on my mouth stopped me.  
  
"One more embrace, _cariad_... in case it is the last."  
  
Curiousity, confusion, and rising anger warred with each other. I could not imagine anything he would willingly do that would make me hate him, but his fear was real, and it made me fear, too, to learn what he was keeping from me.  
  
He enfolded me into his embrace, so close around me as if he were trying to surround me with his body. He whispered into my hair, words I didn't understand, his heartbeat under my hands like a twin to mine. I wrapped my arms around him and breathed in that dear familiar scent, and just for a moment allowed myself to melt into the feeling. I pulled back a little to look up at him, but before I could speak he covered my lips with his. _One last kiss._ I didn't even know if it was my thought or his. I was still wondering when the the room faded into darkness.  
  
  
  
  



	10. "It's not for me to tell"

  
Pain. I guess I really was alive, because being dead shouldn't hurt this much, should it? I hadn't given much thought to what I would face after death, but somehow this wasn't what I expected.   
  
A woman's voice intruded on my thoughts. "...I don't know. With a wound like that, and the blood loss, plus silver in her bloodstream, she shouldn't even be alive, hybrid or not. I don't know what you did, Mr. Caden, but it worked."   
  
"Then why hasn't she awakened?" my love's voice demanded harshly.   
  
_But I have_ , I thought. Surely if I were dead I wouldn't be able to hear their voices. I tried to move, but I felt like one dull, heavy lump of pain. Even opening my eyes was just too difficult.   
  
A hand touched mine, held it, and I thought hopefully, _Emrys_?  
  
" _Cariad_ ," I heard him murmur, and then I didn't think anything more.  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
I felt the pain again, but it was distant, almost disconnected from me. I tried to feel my body, tried to move. The blackness had turned to a disconcerting brightness, and I opened my eyes to bright sunlight. I quickly shut my eyes again, turning my head away, and heard someone walk to the window and yank the curtains closed. Cautiously I opened my eyes a slit, but the light was dimmer now, bearable.   
  
"Welcome to the land of the living," Claudia said. I blinked up at her, trying to focus on her face, but it wasn't easy.  
  
"What did they give me? I can't even see straight," I muttered weakly, unable to manage anything more.  
  
She made a noise of amused derision. "What _didn't_ they give you is more like it. They've been struggling for six days to keep you alive."  
  
I blinked, something hovering at the edge of my consciousness. "Six days... the safe-conduct!"  
  
"It's okay. Samuel said we're all fine for as long as it takes you to heal. He's even been providing extra guards for you and donors for Damian and Caden."  
  
"Caden?" I asked.  
  
"He's been here every night, sitting with you. He exhausted himself trying to heal you. You're lucky as hell, you know that?"  
  
"How... how am I alive?"  
  
"Somehow Caden sensed what was happening to you. He followed you but only just got there in time. When the two of you went over the edge, he flew up and caught you."  
  
"But..." I tried to raise my hand to my side and pain shot through me. I gasped through clenched teeth.   
  
Claudia's hands on my shoulders pinned me back to the bed. "Don't try to move. You're still in bad shape. You had a hole shot through your side. Even with Caden healing you every night, it's only half healed." She gave me a quizzical look. "Did you know he had healing powers?"  
  
"Yes," I answered shortly. At least the pain cleared my head. "The killer?"  
  
"You got her, Mara. She's dead. They matched the gun that shot you to the bullets from the other murders, plus the fingerprints."  
  
"Hybrid," I whispered. "She was one of us."  
  
"I know. There's all kinds of speculation that she was attached to some religious hate group, but they can't prove a connection." Claudia paused. "They couldn't even identify her. The ID she gave the hotel was fake, and they couldn't find a real one. Not the fingerprints, no dental records, nothing."  
  
"The bomb?"  
  
She shook her head. "It was made of stuff found inside the hotel. Nothing sophisticated enough to be identifiable. They think she set it, but they don't know for sure."  
  
I frowned, thinking. "How... the police wouldn't have told you..."  
  
"It's been all over the news. Hate to tell you, kiddo, but you're a hero." I was finally able to focus on her face, see her sardonic smile.  
  
I groaned. "I screwed up. If I hadn't let her trick me..."  
  
"She'd still be alive and hunting other hybrids."  
  
"If I hadn't taken my gun off in the hotel..."  
  
"It's done, Mara. By some miracle, you survived, and now you know better. Don't do it again."  
  
I laughed slightly, and immediately regretted it as pain lanced through me. I lay back, gasping, and tried to make sense of all she had told me. "So Samuel hasn't threatened Caden again?"  
  
She stared down at me, her expression deadly serious. "No. He came to the hospital the first night. We were braced for trouble, but..." she trailed off.  
  
"What?"  
  
She shook her head a little. "No, I'll let Caden tell you."  
  
"Claudia..." I protested.  
  
"It's not for me to tell, Mara," she said firmly.  
  
"Is there something wrong with him? Is he hurt?" I forgot myself and tried to sit up. The room spun and I fell back, panting.  
  
"No, he's fine," she hastily assured me "You two just need to talk, that's all." I glared at her, but the set look on her face told me she wasn't going to budge. "You need to rest now," she informed me, and I gave her another glare just on principle.  
  
Then a nurse came in and gave me another shot, and I drifted off in the midst of my troubled thoughts.  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
I woke again a few hours later, and Claudia and I were playing cards when the nurse came in again. I braced myself to politely resist if she tried to give me another shot. Cherry had taught me to respect nurses, but I had spent enough time unconscious.  
  
"You've got a visitor."   
  
I lifted my eyebrows. The convention had been over for days, and the attendees gone home. The vampires were still asleep, and my people would not have been announced as visitors, just been let in. So who could be here to see me?  
  
"I wasn't going to let him in," she said, and blushed, "but he has been here every day. He said it's very important he sees you now that you're awake."  
  
Huh. Anyone who could make the stolid nurse actually blush had to be Belle Morte's line, or at least one of my father's people. Even the lycanthropes who worked at Guilty Pleasures knew how to make good looks and charm work for them.  
  
I nodded. "Send him in."  
  
She walked out, and soon my visitor came in. He was definitely not one of my father's people.  
  
  



	11. "I did not come here merely to visit"

 

"Giovanni!" I said, startled. He gave me an understated version of his normal charming smile, and I could easily see how he had persuaded the nurse to let him in. He was elegant in a white dress shirt and neatly pressed tan slacks, with immaculately polished brown shoes. Executive daywear, that was something I hadn't seen him in before. It made me wonder what he did for a living.  
  
"Mara. It is good to see you awake again." He came to my bedside and held out his hand for mine, but instead of merely clasping my hand, he gave me a half-bow and kissed it.  
  
I smiled at him. "It's good to see you too, although I'm a little surprised you're still in town." That was an understatement.  
  
"I could scarcely leave the savior of hybridkind here to recover alone, could I?" His smile held a hint of challenge, or teasing.  
  
I laughed. "I appreciate the sentiment, but I think you're overstating the case."  
  
"If I am, I am far from the only one." Yep, definitely teasing. He became more serious. "Nonetheless, what you did took a great deal of courage."  
  
"I would hardly call it courage when I figured I was dead anyway. Can we talk about something else?" I asked rather plaintively. Normally I don't do plaintive, but I reeeally did not want to hear any more 'hero' talk.  
  
He inclined his head graciously. "As you wish. How are you feeling?"  
  
I considered. "I was going to say 'fine', but there's a rule against lying to the fey, isn't there?" I gave him a mischievous smile, and he laughed quietly. "I'm alive, and I'm healing. That's about as much as I can ask for." I gave a shrug that was both humorous and resigned.  
  
"That may not be entirely true," he said slowly, drawing closer to my bedside and lowering his voice. "I did not come here merely to visit. I can help you, if you will permit me."  
  
I was totally in the dark. "Um, help how, exactly?"  
  
"I can heal you." His eyes flicked away. "Perhaps not completely, but considerably."  
  
I studied him, but his averted gaze gave away nothing. "That would be great, but why do I get the feeling there's a catch to this offer?"  
  
"That depends on your point of view." His gaze slid back to mine. "I am part fey, this much you know. You may not know that I come of a bloodline whose powers are fertility-themed."  
  
"Really."  
  
"That bloodline also carries the ability to heal."  
  
I lifted my eyebrows. Healing abilities seemed like a very good thing, but the way he said it made it seem like there was something I was missing.  
  
Then it clicked. "So, what, you're telling me you can heal with sex?" I laughed a little. "Thank you for the offer, but..."  
  
His fingers on my lips stopped me. "I heal with passion, sexual energy. The actual sex act is... helpful, but not required." The corner of his mouth turned up in dry amusement, and he removed his fingers. Relief. The subject was embarrassing enough without such a disconcertingly intimate touch. "You are most alluring, Mara, but I prefer my lovers to be whole and healthy when they come to my bed."  
  
I had to smile at that. "Fair enough. So whose passion is required to make this work, yours or mine?"  
  
"Both. This not something I would ordinarily try, but I believe that your magic combined with mine will accomplish the task with a minimum of physicality."  
  
I looked over at Claudia, who sat watching from the chair nearby. She shrugged. "Don't ask me. If this were shifter stuff I could help you, but I don't know anything about fey magic." But her eyes held a warning, and I remembered her words in the car: _Sometimes just knowing what a guy like that is up to isn't enough to keep it from working._  
  
But what was he up to? I looked back at Giovanni and just didn't know. I was pretty sure he wanted to seduce me, but somehow I doubted a little magic-enhanced petting in a hospital bed was what he had in mind. On the other hand, how did I know he was telling the truth about the healing? But what would be the point of lying, especially for so little gain, and in front of Claudia besides? Outright lying just wasn't his style. Maybe he thought he was such hot stuff that one taste would keep a woman coming back for more. If he was, he'd better be prepared for disappointment.  
  
The truth was, I was weak and in pain and I wanted to get out of Boston and go home. If toeing the danger line with Giovanni could cut my recovery time, that sounded like an acceptable risk to me.  
  
He was sitting beside the bed, legs crossed, hands in his lap, his so-dark eyes on me, the picture of relaxed patience.  
  
I sighed. "I hope you're right about our magic doing the trick, because I'll be honest, I feel anything but sexy right now."  
  
He smiled. I'm sure he was trying for harmless, but the look just didn't quite work for him. "Is that a yes?" He held out one slim hand to me. I've always liked men with nice hands, and his were lovely, long-fingered and artistic looking.  
  
"Yes." My voice sounded tired even to me. "Claudia, would you mind giving us a little privacy, please?"  
  
"I wouldn't be much of a bodyguard if I left you alone and injured with someone I don't know." She gave me a _you know better than that_ look.  
  
She had a point, but the thought of her watching still made me squirm a bit, and not in a good way. "Then perhaps just turn your back? I don't know what this requires, and I think watching is kind of outside your job description."  
  
Claudia snickered a little. "You'd be amazed what I've seen as part of my job, but you got it." She obligingly turned her chair around.  
  
"Thanks." I looked into his eyes and placed my hand in his. For a moment when my hand touched his, something slid behind his eyes, something I couldn't identify. Just for a moment, the charming seducer was gone, vanished, replaced by someone darker, more serious- more frighteningly intense.  
  
Then the moment ended and he smiled. There was nothing harmless about his smile now. He stood and took my hand in his other hand, guided it up his mouth and brushed a soft kiss in the palm. Heat surged from the spot his lips touched. I inhaled sharply, and realized that the sudden heat I felt wasn't only desire; his magic felt like pure heat spreading through my body. It was like I had stepped into a sauna, feeling the warmth absorbing into my body, soothing and sensual, relaxing yet exciting, and the warmth was his power. Yet I still felt his lips brushing along my fingers, his so-warm hand curled around mine. I opened my eyes, and his were intent on my face.  
  
"Let go," he whispered against my fingers, which gave me pause. Let go of what? He pressed a light kiss to the tips of my two middle fingers, then he drew them into his mouth, his eyes fixed on mine. There can be something intensely sexual about having a man suck on your fingers, and suddenly I felt a very strong need for air. I fell back with a gasp, letting the sensation flow through me. It started a pull deep in my body, and the hot magic began to move, to flow and caress inside me.  
  
Then I understood. I allowed my shields to lower, then dissolve away, and my magic flowed outward to mix with his, racing across our joined hands into him. His breath caught, his skin glowing. I looked into his eyes and felt that he had brought my eyes to the drowning solid blue of passion. If he could do this just touching my hand, what could he do if I gave him full access? The thought made my body tighten and drew a soft sound from my throat. The glow of his skin intensified, reflecting into his eyes, and my skin glowed as white as his was sunlight-gold.  
  
"Kiss me," I whispered.  
  
He released my fingers, placing a light kiss on the tips before letting go of my hand. He came close to the bed, both hands clasping the rail on the side, and bent to kiss me. It was chaste at first, but I parted my lips and he sighed, opened his mouth and fed at mine. He tasted like sunlight and honey and the scent of trees on the wind, a breath of summer.  
  
I buried one hand in his dark curls, but his hands stayed firmly on the rail. I was vaguely disappointed at that until he released one hand, letting it hover over my body. The hand was not touching me, but I could feel our combined magic react and move through my body, swirling around wherever his hand drew near. He moved it above my chest then slowly down my body to just above the wound, and kept it there while we kissed. Why did it not surprise me that he was an amazing kisser? His tongue danced with mine and his hand lowered toward my skin slowly, so slowly, as if my aura was some kind of thick, sweet liquid he had to push through.  
  
When his hand came to rest on my hip just below the wound, it was like a live wire touched our magic, making it burst into flame across my skin and inside my body in one sweeping whoosh, and the fire was pure pleasure. I jerked back from his kiss and cried out, and I heard him cry out next to me, felt his weight as he half-collapsed across me.   
  
"Dear gods," I murmured. Giovanni started to laugh breathlessly, his face still hidden in my shoulder. My hand had gone limp in his hair and I lifted it to stroke his soft curls. It hadn't hurt when he fell on me. With an effort I dragged up the hem of my pajama top. My wound was completely healed, with not even a mark to show where it had been. Even that small motion exhausted what little energy I had, and I grudgingly lay back to rest.  
  
I heard movement and turned my head to see Samuel's people stopped near the door, staring at us with wide black eyes. Claudia had stood up as well, her watchful eyes taking in the scene.  
  
"Claudia," I said carefully. "Call Papa, please ask him to send the plane today. I think we've imposed on Samuel's hospitality long enough. We'll leave tonight."  
  
She frowned a little at me. "You sure you're up to it?"  
  
"I am now." I looked at the two merpeople. "Tell your boss thanks, but I don't think we'll be visiting again very soon." They bowed and left the room.  
  
Giovanni hadn't moved except for a small shiver that had started in his hands. I looked down at him, concerned. "Giovanni? Are you okay?"  
  
He didn't immediately answer. Then he lifted his face to give me a slow, lazy smile like a contented cat. "That was marvelous," he told me, drawing out the last word purringly. His eyes met mine and I froze, staring at those eyes, dumbfounded.  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Additonal Note: I forgot to mention this before because I've read TH through exactly once and probably blocked out much of it, but: I had the name Giovanni picked out for my character months before TH came out. Ask me how pissed off I was when I came across that name in TH. Seriously. I bet that guy wasn't even Italian. (Don't get me started about LKH giving villains Italian names...) *ahem* Anyway. And I refuse to change it now 'cause I'm stubborn like that. ;-)


	12. "And you're okay with..."

  
  
  
He had tricolor eyes. The deep chocolate liqueur color was now only on the outside edge of the iris, with circles of gold in the middle and a lighter, warmer brown around the pupils.  
  
He was sidhe. I stared speechless at those eyes, my heart pounding.  
  
His smile faded. "Is something wrong?"  
  
"You're _sidhe_ ," I whispered.  
  
He gave one long, slow blink. "Does that make a difference?" he asked in a casual tone that his eyes did not reflect.  
  
I almost laughed in disbelief. Did it make a difference? Of all those that were called fey, sidhe were the most powerful of an incredibly magically potent group. They were the royalty, the ones who had been worshiped as gods by humans not so long ago, and had had the power to back it up. I had known he was fey, but finding out now that he was sidhe was like allowing your mind to be rolled by a fledgling vampire and then discovering he's a thousand-year-old master. _Big_ difference.  
  
"You are _way_ so much more powerful than I thought you were, so yeah, that makes a difference."  
  
"I should think that would be a good thing. No lesser fey could have healed such a grievous wound so quickly." He stood, his forced casualness replaced by a look of arrogance as I watched. "You seek a powerful lover, and I know you are drawn to me as I am to you. Now that you know I have what you need, why do you react this way?"  
  
I looked away, letting out a breath that was almost a laugh. "How exactly do you know what I'm looking for?"  
  
"My mother was a fertility goddess. I can sense thoughts and feelings related to desire." He looked at me very intently. "You were considering me. So what has changed?"  
  
Peachy, another one who can divine when somebody wants him. Just once I'd like to lust after somebody who can't sense it from fifty paces.  
  
He tipped his head a little, his expression closed down. "Would you have refused my healing if you had known I am sidhe?"  
  
"I don't know." I looked away, frustrated. "Okay, probably not. I just wish you had been honest about it." I was starting to wonder if I really had justification to be angry with him, and that made me even more annoyed. I was sitting up, huddled back against the wall at the head of the bed, something I realized I had been unable to do an hour before.  
  
Dammit.  
  
I started again, in a softer voice. "The full power of a sidhe could have made me into an addict, and I went into this not even aware of the possibility. You can't blame me for being upset. I trusted you and you didn't tell me everything I needed to know."  
  
"I would not have allowed that to happen," he said in a very cold tone. "I came here to help you, not to cause you harm."  
  
I bowed my head, suddenly very tired. "Never mind. Just forget it."  
  
He stood very straight, his back stiff, his expression icy. "I will certainly not forget it. You will refuse me now because of what I am. You reject me because I am sidhe."  
  
"No, that's not what I'm saying..." I began.  
  
"Isn't it?" he asked coldly. This entire conversation was striking me as strange- I'd never seen or heard of Giovanni being this touchy. Then again, I'd never heard of his being sidhe, either. It made me wonder how much more I didn't know about him.  
  
I rubbed at my eyes with the heels of my hands and sighed. "Thank you for healing me, Giovanni. Whatever else, I do appreciate that." When I lowered my hands, he was staring at me silently.  
  
"Curse you, Mara Blake," he said, and now his tone was laced with the heat of anger. "I thought you would be different." He walked out of the room, not stopping even when I called after him.  
  
I lay back with a groan that had nothing to do with physical pain. Oh yeah, I'm one hell of a diplomat. Not.  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
It was barely past full dark when Caden came in.  
  
" _Cariad_ ," he smiled, moving quickly to my bedside to take my hand. "Thank God you are awake." I got up on my knees in the bed and kissed him lingeringly. His hands rested lightly on my arms, and I realized that he thought I was still injured and was being careful of me.  
  
"I'm better than awake," I smiled at him. "I'm fully healed, look!" I pulled up the pajama top just far enough to show where the wound had been.  
  
He examined it front and back and gave me a mystified look. "How did this happen?"  
  
"Someone sort of helped me out." I started to blush, and cleared my throat. "I'll tell you the story later. Is the plane ready to go?"  
  
He gave me a lifted eyebrow but let it go. He opened the bag he carried and handed me a pile of clothes, complete with my gun and knives on top. "Yes, but the Master of the City and his son are waiting to see you when you are dressed."  
  
That was a surprise. "Samuel and Sampson are here?" He nodded. "Oh boy. Okay, I'll be right out. Actually," I added as an afterthought, wrinkling my nose, "Give me a few minutes to take a shower. I need to wash off the stink of hospital."  
  
Caden gave me a slight smile. "I am sure they will not object to that."  
  
I rather impressed myself by being done ten minutes later. I was still rubbing my hair dry with a towel, but I felt much more myself in my own clothes and with my weapons. I waited with some trepidation while Nicholas went to get Sampson and Samuel. The room was short of chairs, so I perched on the bed. The two men entered the room after Nicholas. Both wore simple, expensive dark suits, and I was struck anew by the resemblance between them.  
  
I nodded to them both. "Master Samuel, Sampson, I am honored by your visit." I smiled slightly. "I hope you'll forgive me for not getting up." I proffered my wrist to Samuel in greeting, and he placed a light kiss on the pulse there. Sampson held out his hand and simply gave mine a light squeeze.  
  
"Of course, we understand you are still recovering," Samuel told me. "I have come to offer you my deepest apologies that you were harmed within my territory."  
  
"Master Samuel, you are not responsible for the actions of a lunatic. We all know that, and so does my father. I am grateful for the help you have given me and my people during our... extended stay." I smiled wryly at the last part.  
  
He smiled briefly, but it was not a happy look. "You are generous, Mara, but I cannot help but think you might not have been attacked if you had had more of your people around you."  
  
I shook my head. "The killer deliberately created a chaotic situation to separate me from my guards. There is no guarantee that more guards would have changed anything. And even if they had... perhaps I might have been spared, but a murderer would still be preying upon my kind. You can taste the truth in my words, Master Samuel. I do not hold you responsible."  
  
He tipped his head, studying me. "Yet you are angry with me."  
  
I looked away. "Not for myself. Not for this." I sighed a bit, closing my eyes and bowing my head wearily. I reached over to Caden where he sat on my other side, and he took my hand in both his own.  
  
"We will take our leave of you now. You are weary, and you still have a long trip ahead of you." Samuel smiled sadly. "Please give your parents my greetings."  
  
"I will." I offered him my other hand, and he bowed over it.   
  
Sampson studied me for a moment, then opened his arms to me. I smiled and leaned forward to hug him. He held me a bit longer than necessary, and then kissed my cheek before moving away. "I'm glad you're better, Mara. I was worried about you." As he stepped back, I noticed he was wearing the pin I had given him.  
  
I was touched. "That's sweet, Sampson, thank you."  
  
My visitors turned to leave, until Caden's voice stopped them.  
  
"Who was it?"  
  
Samuel turned, his expression closed down, cold and still as many of the older Masters could do. Caden met his gaze steadily, his eyes guarded. He said nothing more, but we all knew what he meant.  
  
"Constantine," Samuel said quietly. "He was one of my own, my vampire child."  
  
Caden averted his eyes. "He was... very young."  
  
Samuel's cold facade wavered. "Less than a century. You remember him?"  
  
Caden's hands tightened on mine as he looked up at Samuel. "I remember everyone she made me kill."  
  
Samuel looked away for a long moment, silent, then back at my love. "I have hated you and the Dragon for a long time. It did not occur to me that you may not have wanted to do her bidding."  
  
Caden suddenly became absorbed in studying my hand, still held in his. "She wanted others to believe I was a soulless killer. It was what she wanted me to be, what she tried to force me to become."  
  
"But she failed," I said softly. "You're stronger than she was." He looked up at me, his eyes clouded with painful memories. I touched his cheek. "You're still a good man." _That's why I love you so much,_ I added silently, and he bent his head, kissing the hand he held in his.  
  
"A soulless killer would not have risked sacrificing eternity to save a mortal girl," Samuel said quietly.  
  
Just like that, it came together: the dream, and what Claudia refused to tell me. Caden had given me his marks. He had given me his strength to help me heal, risking that if I died, I could have taken him with me. I bowed my head, tears stinging my eyes, then looked at him, overwhelmed with emotions too numerous and confused to identify. _You thought I would hate you for that?_ I asked him silently.  
  
He kept his head down, avoiding my eyes.  
  
"We will leave you now," Samuel's voice barely penetrated my confused distraction. "I hope this will not be your last visit to my territory. If you do choose to return, I can promise you will receive a more cordial reception." He hesitated. "Both of you," he added in a decisive tone.  
  
"Thank you, Master Samuel," I replied, and gave him the best smile I could muster. It wasn't much of a smile, but it held real warmth. I guess even a very old dog can learn new tricks after all, and forgiveness is a hard thing to learn at any age.  
  
Caden inclined his head to them, and the Master and his son took their leave.  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
Our things were already packed, so it was short work to pick up Stephen and Damian at the hotel and get on the plane for home. We talked for a while during the flight, but despite the amount of rest I had gotten recently, I was exhausted and soon fell asleep cuddled under Caden's arm.  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  
We landed with just a few hours to spare before dawn. I was surprised to see several cars besides the transportation sent for us.  
  
"The police are providing us an escort to the Circus," Claudia explained.  
  
We descended the stairs from the jet, Caden going first at his own insistance with me just behind, and a familiar voice gave me another surprise.  
  
"Damn, kid, I knew you're a pain in the butt, but you're in Boston less than a week and somebody throws you off a building?"  
  
I recognized the voice and laughed in delight. "Lieutenant Zerbrowski?"  
  
He stepped into the dim light from the door and I saw the rumpled suit, glasses, and salt-and-pepper hair of my favorite police officer. Caden stepped aside at the base of the steps and I hugged Zerbrowski.  
  
"You keep up like this, kiddo, and you're going to become as much trouble as your mother. And that's saying something," he laughed, carefully hugging me back.  
  
I smiled without flashing fang. "I'll tell her you said so. I'm sure she'll take it as a compliment."  
  
"I bet she would. There's somebody else here to see you." Zerbrowski stepped aside, and a tall, lean figure moved into the light.  
  
"Nate?" I asked, and the newcomer grinned. Though in the darkness I couldn't distinguish the color, I knew his eyes were grey and his hair a reddish blonde. If there was a mortal non-lycanthrope in St. Louis who could compare to me in magic, it was Nathan Kirkland. I suppose that was only natural, considering he was the son of a witch and an animator, and nearly as unsurprising was that he had chosen to follow his mother's example and join the police. He'd be a fine asset for RPIT someday. "Surely you haven't graduated yet?"  
  
"No, but I heard they were meeting you to escort you back, and Lt. Zerbrowski was kind enough to let me join the detail." He stepped forward and hugged me. We weren't as close as I was to some of my other friends, but his father and my mother had been coworkers and friends since before we were born, and we had known each other all our lives.  
  
"He bugged the hell out of me till I agreed, you mean," Zerbrowski grumbled playfully. "Come on, let's get out of here before the vultures descend."  
  
My father had sent two vans, and we soon had the luggage packed in one and we piled in the other along with Nate and Lt. Zerbrowski.  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  
We arrived at the Circus, and after a round of hugs and an injunction from Lt. Zerbrowski to " _try_ to stay out of trouble for a few days!", we filed down the steps. Caden had only grudgingly agreed to let me walk on my own. He could be amazingly mother-hen-ish for a centuries old vampire. But then I couldn't really blame him.  
  
My parents met us at the bottom of the stairs, and I found myself engulfed in hugs and kisses, even from my normally undemonstrative mother. Even more surprising was Papa taking Caden by the shoulders, kissing him on both cheeks and saying, "Thank you, _mon fils_. Again I owe you my child's life."  
  
"You owe me nothing, sir," Caden assured Papa, making him smile.  
  
"By the way, there's a few more people who want to welcome you back," my mother said with a rare grin. "Come on."  
  
"A few" people was putting it mildly. Our little group of tired travelers followed my parents into the sitting room to find it so full that the curtains had been moved back to accommodate the crowd. Claudia and Steven were whisked off by their weregroups, and Damian, Nicholas, Caden and I found ourselves surrounded by the denizens of the Circus and Mother's pard.  
  
A small decorative pot containing a miniature white rose bush was placed in my hand, and when I had dragged my eyes from the lovely little plant to see the giver I got yet another surprise: a tall, slim, redhaired man with uptilted green eyes. "Gil!" I laughed, hugging him, and he shyly hugged me back. Gil had moved in to the Circus years before to become one of the resident _pommes_. It puzzled me since the werefox seemed almost as afraid of the other Circus-dwellers as he was of outsiders, and mostly stuck to his room except to feed the vampires. Since I was a child I had made an effort to lure him out among the rest of us, and as a result, I was one of the few people he was comfortable with. I guiltily realized I had nearly forgotten Gil since my life had been shaken up and then become rather Caden-centric, and resolved to fix that. If Gil could brave coming out of his room into a crowd like this to welcome me home, then resuming our friendship obviously mattered to him.  
  
Then Cherry moved away and I found myself face to face with... "Ulfric!" I exclaimed, and the tall, muscular man guardedly held out his hands to me. I had never been close with the third of my parents' triumvirate, but of late he had come to accept me as a person in my own right rather than a symbol of my mother's rejection of him for Papa. Still, I was nervous as I stood on tiptoes to hug the big man. The room had gone very quiet.  
  
He gave me a quick, light squeeze and stepped back, giving me a small teasing smile. "You're getting as bad as your mother with almost getting killed," he informed me.  
  
I huffed in feigned outrage. "I will have you know this is only the third time I've almost gotten killed! That's nowhere near Mother's record."  
  
" _Fourth_ ," Caden said dryly from behind me, and there were chuckles all around us.  
  
"And you started earlier," Richard added.  
  
"Well... still, nowhere close!" I added, fully aware I was being teased and doing a transparently bad job of pretending I didn't like it.  
  
Richard sobered a bit. "And you're okay with..." He gestured between me and Caden, and I glanced over my shoulder to give my beloved a smile, then looked back at Richard and shrugged.  
  
"I wanted to be with Caden forever. Now I will be." I felt Caden's relief and joy breathe through my mind. _The marks_ , I realized. This was going to take some getting used to, but I was looking forward to it. Just another adventure for me and my _cariad_.  
  
  
  
_The End..._ (for now)

  
  
Scroll down for a preview of _**Ascension**_ , the next tale in the series...   
  
  
  
  
  
After being kept up until dawn by the impromptu welcome-home party, I awoke late the next afternoon, vastly relieved to be back in my own bed. I began running through the events of our trip in my mind.   
  
I had heard of so-called 'spooks'- people with top-secret jobs whose records were severely edited and/or restricted- but even they had identities. But someone with no identity at all? And the killer had been young, too- perhaps no older than myself. It was inconceivable that she could have been a 'spook', even one gone rogue. So who else would be able to hide their existence so entirely? I made a mental note to contact Agent Lee, or get Mother to do it. She would probably get more information out of him.   
  
Still... there were other resources, not quite so official. If there was a conspiracy behind the hybrid murders, then the threat was not over. I pocketed my address book and left, driving to a pay phone a few miles away. There I dialed a phone number I had never expected to use.  
  
"Peter Black," a voice said. Peter Black, known only to a very few as Peter Parnell, was a bounty hunter specializing in murderous lycanthropes. It was rumored but never proven that he would take other, less lawful jobs. I happened to know the rumors were true.  
  
"Peter, it's Mara. I have a job for you."  
  
"Talk to me," he said, and I did.  
  
Ten minutes later, I hung up. _Now_ something was going to get done.  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  
I felt a sudden awareness of someone else in the back of my mind, and smiled. _Beloved,_ I said silently.  
  
_Cariad,_ Caden replied, his 'voice' affectionate. Then there was an impression of distaste. _What **are** you drinking?  
  
It's Diet Coke. What, you don't like it?_  
  
He didn't respond in words, but he didn't have to.  
  
_Well, I like it,_ I informed him. _What would you rather I drink, ale or something?  
  
It would be an improvement,_ he replied dryly.  
  
I suppressed my amusement with difficulty. _Grouse grouse grouse. We can discuss my dining habits later.  
  
I will buy you some decent wine._  
  
Ugh. _I don't like wine.  
  
Perhaps because you have not had proper wine yet._  
  
I sighed and relented. I supposed if I could drink cheap rum, I could drink wine to please Caden. He hadn't tasted the stuff in five centuries. _Still, at least I could mix the rum with soda,_ I thought as quietly as I could, but his amusement showed me I hadn't thought it quietly enough. _Get out of my mind, you. I'm busy, and you're distracting me._  
  
My profound apologies, cariad, he replied with undiminished amusement, and I was alone in my mind again.  
  
Still smiling to myself, I put my purchases in the car and headed for home and my lover.  



End file.
